


exiled (to the night shift)

by scribble_stars



Series: Dream SMP Grocery Store AU stories!!! [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Angry Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Depressed TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dream is an attention whore, Exiled TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Found Family, Gen, Good Friend Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Lonely TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Panic Attacks, Protective Cara | CaptainPuffy, Protective Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Wilbur Soot, Sick TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Twins, and it shows, and thats okay, awesamdad, dream really can't decide if he wants to torment these children or comfort them, he is very hard to write as a character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28684758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribble_stars/pseuds/scribble_stars
Summary: Tommy knew that messing with the most important shipment of the quarter was a bad, awful idea.Now he was alone, at eleven pm, nothing to defend him against the cold as he pulled in shopping carts but a thin red hoodie.Luckily, he had a few people in his corner for him----this is for the grocery store au by getouttamyswamp here on Ao3, inspired by a comment by Mylaughinghyena
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: Dream SMP Grocery Store AU stories!!! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105640
Comments: 406
Kudos: 1171
Collections: Dream SMP Grocery Store AU





	1. reminiscing on past mistakes, featuring a sheep named Friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [getouttamyswamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/getouttamyswamp/gifts), [Mylaughinghyena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mylaughinghyena/gifts).
  * Inspired by [DreamSMP Grocery Store AU headcannons](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393056) by [getouttamyswamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/getouttamyswamp/pseuds/getouttamyswamp). 



> i am most definitely posting for this au again. within the same day. i love it so so much, and it is just what i needed to get writing again, and i love the different dynamics and scenarios that this au allows!!!
> 
> i saw the comment from Mylaughinghyena on the headcannons, and i had to write about their idea for a potential exile arc within the au, because i was a sucker for the exile arc and i wanted to explore it here :-)
> 
> i hope y'all like this one as much as my last one, this one is going to be even longer, with even more tommy angst, and it'll even feature more of the different characters :-)

Tommy had majorly fucked up. He knew it from the moment it happened, but it was finally starting to hit him as he worked alone in the cold parking lot of the store, pushing carts back to the neat rows they kept by the entrance. His hoodie wasn’t nearly thick enough for the late autumn weather. He thought back to how he’d ended up there, alone and cold at eleven at night, working the closing shift by himself.

________________________________

  
  


_“Tubbo, you’re in charge for the day while we’re at a training thing, okay? Make sure Tommy here doesn’t get into any trouble,” Sapnap jested, chuckling while Tommy was indignant at the idea of needing a babysitter. He’d been working longer than Tubbo, even if he was younger!_

_“Hey! I take full offense to that, bitch,” Tommy stated matter-of-factly, while the managers and Tubbo laughed. “Wow, betrayed by my own best friend.”_

_“It’s all in good fun, Tommy,” George grinned cheekily at the younger boy, amusement sparkling in his eyes behind the glasses he was so often seen in. “Besides, it’s just for the day. But remember, there’s that big shipment coming in, and it means a lot to me that it goes well, okay?”_

_George looked between the two teens, who nodded eagerly. He chuckled and started to walk out the front with Dream and Sapnap._

_“We’ll see you all tomorrow!” Dream announced, and the trio was gone._

________________________________

  
  


Tommy shivered as a gust of wind hit him. He really did wish he had more than his stupid red hoodie. He scolded himself internally for insulting the hoodie. It’d been a gift from Tubbo for his birthday, the first one since they’d met. Tommy had never been more excited to receive a hoodie. Thinking about the other boy made his heart clench. He knew that Tubbo had only done what he had to, but it still stung. His best friend had been so ready to throw him under the bus, but he knew it was worth it so they didn’t all lose their jobs.

Tommy wasn’t the only one at fault for what had led to him being “exiled,” as Dream had so eloquently (jokingly) put it. But Tommy wasn’t about to throw Ranboo under the bus. While he _had_ grown on the whole store, he was still so new, and he likely wouldn’t have been given a chance at all. But Tommy knew if he took the full blame, then Ranboo wouldn’t have to worry about possibly losing his job. He knew how much the job meant to Ranboo, of course, he felt similarly, but Tommy had been there longer, and he’d be shown more mercy.

________________________________

  
  


_“The shipment should be here soon. Tommy, since you’re the main receiver, can you head to the back and be ready?” Tubbo asked with a patient, kind smile._

_“For sure, Big Man! Let’s get this bitch!” He cackled, and Tubbo laughed along with him._

_Tommy went to the back and waited for the truck, while Ranboo joined him, not having anything else to do. It was a slow day in the store, and the others were all probably around, or goofing off in the break room._

_“Heya, Tommy,” Ranboo greeted, and Tommy lit up._

_“Hey, Ranboo! I have an idea,” Tommy smirked devilishly, while Ranboo groaned a bit. He knew how Tommy was when he was about to come up with a plan for a prank, most of which ended poorly. Of course, Ranboo’ gut feeling was right this time as well. If only he’d discouraged his spitfire friend to not go through with it._

_“Do I even want to hear it?” Ranboo asked, already sounding exasperated, while Tommy chuckled yet again._

_“You most definitely do…”_

________________________________

  
  


Messing with the shipment had been a poor idea, and Tommy knew that subconsciously even as he’d been coming up with it, but he didn’t think it would end so badly. A sharp honk came from the road, and Tommy jumped, causing the carts to rattle. Thankfully, he’d gotten the last of the carts that were scattered around the entrance and parking lot and he could tackle the carnage inside. He took a shuddering breath as he walked inside, the fan right above the door blasting him with warm air.

He could handle the carts. Yeah, his hands were always cramped and cold afterwards, but it was straightforward and easy, and Tommy knew what to expect. Cleaning the inside of the store after hours was like hell. Finding stray cups, cans, or bottles from customers, or a particularly disorganized aisle, and tackling the mess that was the bathrooms. After hours was arguably the worst, but Tommy knew he deserved it.

________________________________

  
  


_“Tommy, I know you’ve been working here longer, and you usually know what you’re doing, I just don’t think that doing an unloading competition with one of the most important deliveries in months is a good idea,” Ranboo said, anxiety lacing his tone._

_“Don’t be such a straight edged bitch, Ranboo! It’ll be FUN!” Tommy egged Ranboo on, practically bullying him into saying yes, but after a while, even Ranboo seemed more excited than not to goof off with one of his closest friends._

_When the delivery arrived, Tommy and Ranboo raced to get to the back, each grabbing a box and starting to run to unload them. But just as they were about to get to the finish line, Ranboo, being the clumsy, lanky person he was, tripped, and landed directly onto the box he was holding with a resounding crunch. He scrambled to get up, and Tommy stopped dead in his tracks. The two made eye contact, fear evident in both of their faces. Tommy rushed to Ranboo’s side and picked up the box, peeking inside. All of the things were crushed. Ranboo looked like he was on the verge of tears._

_“It-Its okay, Big Man, don’t worry, okay? i’ll take care of it, just go back to the registers,” Tommy sprung to action, shooing the taller boy away. Ranboo wiped his eyes and nodded, walking away. Tommy grabbed the broken box and rushed into the break room. He was more than thankful that it was empty. He went to the cabinet he knew nobody used and put the box in, before rushing back out to finish unloading._

________________________________

  
  


Tommy sucked in a breath, grabbing a squirt bottle and rag, then headed to the registers and self check out. They’d be easy enough to get done, and he knew if he wanted to be out of there before midnight, he’d have to do the easiest things first so he wasn’t overwhelmed and gave up. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, snd he pulled it out to see his mom’s contact flash across his screen. He cringed and put the phone in his pocket, then got back to wiping down. He felt it buzz again, and he was about to answer and just put up with his mom screaming, when he saw a different contact.

**_Big Bother Wilby_ **

A bit surprised, Tommy answered, putting his phone on speaker, and heard a bit of ruckus, before a tinny “Hello, Tommy!” came through the speakers.

“What-“ Tommy cleared his throat. “What’s up, Wilbur? I thought you and Techno were busy for the week with that trip or whatever.”

“I’m on a trip, but I’m never too busy to check up on my favorite gremlin child!” Wilbur chuckled, his voice coming through oddly echoey.

“What’re you doing? You sound off,” Tommy stated bluntly, moving onto the next register.

“I’m in a barn! I met this really cute lamb, and I named him Friend! He’s got the cutest face, and blue eyes, like you!” Tommy could practically hear Wilbur beaming through the phone. Despite loving to tease Tommy, and being serious and mature around the others (a lie), he was just as childish as the rest of them. And Tommy knew how excited he was about his trip to see family across the ocean, especially after he’d found out about their farm.

“You’re such a fucking nerd, Wilbur,” Tommy smiled, rolling his eyes as he finished wiping down everything.

“What’re you up to, Toms? Wait… are you still at work?” Wilbur’s tone shifted to something Tommy couldn’t quite place, and he cringed.

“I- yeah. We’ve just been swamped at the store and stuff so I thought I’d work the night shift and-“

“Tommy, you’re fifteen. You shouldn’t be working at eleven on a school night,” Wilbur scolded gently, but it was obviously out of concern more than anything. “Do you need me to talk to Dream or the other managers about getting back on the after school shift?”

“No!” Tommy realized he’d been too quick to deny his pseudo brother. “I-I mean, I volunteered, really, it’s fine. They have enough workers after school and I’m the head of the grocery department, it honestly makes sense for me to be closing-“

“Tommy, I know you don’t like it, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re still a kid. You need sleep, not just energy drinks, and you shouldn’t be doing closing shift. I know you have a person there with you, but I don’t like the idea of you being out so late. Do you have a ride?” Wilbur asked, and Tommy frowned. 

He did, technically, have a ride. His parents had gotten sick of “wasting gas” on him, and he didn’t want to walk everyday, so he bought a bus pass. (It was a chunk out of his paycheck he hadn’t wanted to sacrifice, but it was only a few dollars for the year, and he didn’t want to have to buy a snack after walking everyday, that would’ve just cost more in the long run).

“My parents are getting me a ride, I told them I’d be working later, and they don’t want me walking or anything anyways,” Tommy mumbled. “I’ll be fine, Wilbur. You’re being such a brother.”

“Well, make sure you text me when you get home, okay? Are you guys almost done there?” Tommy heard the soft noise of a sheep over the phone and smiled. He wished he could meet Friend.

“Yeah I- we’re almost done. So I should probably go. I’ll text you, I promise, okay?” Tommy was itching to talk forever, but he also didn’t want to raise anymore suspicion with Wilbur. He knew he had at least another half hour, and was thankful for the fact that the buses ran late.

“Alright, just make sure you do!” Wilbur dragged out the last vowel dramatically, before Friend made another noise in the back, and Wilbur hung up.

God, Tommy missed Wilbur. He felt tears burn in his eyes, but pushed down the cry that threatened to escape, even though he knew he was alone.

He was _so alone_.

________________________________

  
  


_Ranboo had texted Tommy all night after their shift ended, apologizing again and again, but Tommy reassured him it wasn’t his fault. Tommy had been the one to come up with the idea anyways, he told Ranboo repeatedly._

_“When they find out they’re gonna kill us,” Ranboo muttered as he and Tommy walked to class the next day._

_“No, Big Man, they’re gonna kill me,” Tommy immediately countered. “It was me, all on my own, who did that. You told me not to, I didn’t listen.”_

_He shrugged and kept walking, leaving an increasingly anxious Ranboo to catch up with a few long strides._

_“Tommy, you can’t seriously take the fall for this. What if they fire you?”_

_“They won’t fire me, and if they do, at least you’ll still work there, so I can come and visit you and Tubbo. But that’s besides the point. The worst they’ll probably do is put me on bathroom duty for a few weeks,” Tommy said nonchalantly. He wasn’t scared for the punishment, more so nervous for the yelling that would ensue when the managers discovered what happened. He couldn’t stand yelling, not from anyone, it all felt too close to his parents._

_“Well, I’d be happy to help you out in the bathrooms, or however else you need, okay? If or when they find out, I’m not letting you deal with this all on your own,” Ranboo sounded determined, so Tommy just chuckled and nodded._

_“Alright, you clingy bitch. Maybe you’re spending too much time with Tubbo and I, getting attached to me just like he is,” He rolled his eyes, while his taller friend laughed._

  
  


________________________________

  
  


Tommy felt hot tears stream down his cheeks, hitting the screen of the tablet he was currently using to make sure that everything had been taken stock of. The screen was blurry through his tears, so he decided to turn it off and take a second to breathe, he was surprised when he heard the back room door open, the familiar beeping on the key pad alerting him to the presence of another person. It was likely Dream. The store owner was known to sometimes be a bit of a bully, so coming to taunt Tommy while he dealt with his first of seven nights doing solo closing shift wouldn’t be _completely_ out of character, despite how nice he’d been. It was like a constant back and forth with that man, and Tommy couldn’t get a read on him.

“Hello?” Tommy quickly wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, rounding the corner. He was shocked to see Ranboo, of all people, looking guiltily at the floor.

“Hey, Tommy, I just came here to apologize and maybe, if you’re okay with it, keep you company?” Ranboo caught Tommy's eyes once, before his eyes went back to the floor. Tommy internally chuckled a bit. God, Ranboo was so awkward.

“That’s fine? I guess? But what about your parents, Big Man?” Tommy questioned, to which Ranboo just shrugged.

“They don’t mind too much Besides, bus passes are useful for somethings, eh?” Ranboo attempted to joke, and Tommy gave him a small laugh at the effort. “Anyways, I told you yesterday that I wouldn’t let you go through this alone.”  
  


Tommy couldn’t stop the swell of emotion that he felt for his friend, who had taken a bus at nearly midnight just to see him. “God, I knew you were such a clingy bitch,” he laughed wetly, and didn’t protest when Ranboo put an arm around his shoulders, taking the tablet from his hands that lightly shook as he started to cry.

Ranboo’s arms wrapped around him and Tommy _really_ couldn’t stop himself from crying then. “I’m sorry, Tommy, I’m sorry you gotta deal with this okay? But I’ll be here every night, okay?”

Tommy just nodded and hugged his friend tighter. Maybe it’d be okay after all.


	2. general rule of thumb: don't have breakdowns on public transport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! i hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!! we see a bit more of the characters, and how the verdict went down :-) we also get the green man this chapter
> 
> quick TW for brief, non in-depth description of a panic attack. i'm not sure if there are any others i should put, but please let me know in the comments if i should put a TW for anything else!

_ “TOMMY! There’s a reason I’m the one who was put in charge! Everyone knows that all you do is cause messes all the time! You don’t care about anything but having fun! God, just GROW UP!” Tubbo shouted at Tommy in the back room, where Dream, the managers, and the other departments were gathered. In the end, it hadn’t been finding the box in the cabinet that tipped off George, it was the lack of an entire section of the display he had put together the next morning. _

_ “It was a fucking accident, okay?! I was just trying to make things go quicker, excuse me for trying not to die of boredom, you boring bitch,” Tommy snapped back, internally cringing at the way his best friend had been so fast to rat him out to Dream and George after Dream confronted them. _

_ “This is exactly what I’m talking about! It’s not all about having fun, Tommy, it’s a workplace! This isn’t some game, it’s a job! We have responsibilities!’ Stop acting like such a reckless kid!” Tommy couldn’t stop the flinch at that. _

_ “Hey, don’t you think you’re taking this a bit far,  _ _ niño?” Quackity stepped forward, but Tubbo snapped at him too. _

_ “You’re just as bad as him! You do nothing but egg on his stupid antics!” He yelled harshly. “We’re floundering here with business picking up this quarter, and Tommy knew how important this shipment was! But as per usual, he just fucked it up!” _

_ “Hey, dude, you shouldn’t be talking to anyone like that,” Fundy stepped forward too, but was quickly shut down with a glare from Tubbo. _

_ “Listen guys, either you all-” Dream gestured to Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo, Fundy, and Quackity. “-lose your jobs for being reckless and ruining George’s display, or Tommy works the closing shift by himself.” _

_ “By himself? He can’t be there that late alone, man, I’m pretty sure that’s against like, four laws and-” Quackity started, but Dream continued. _

_ “He won’t be alone, don’t be a dumbass. I’ll be there too,” Dream rolled his eyes, not that the others could really see under his sunglasses. Tommy felt an uneasy twisting in his gut at the thought of being alone with Dream. He didn’t know what Dream thought of him, and his constant back and forth was always so confusing. _

_ “What’ll it be, Tubbo?” Dream asked in a sly tone. “I mean, it’s only a week, I’ll be there the whole time. Or, you can lose your jobs. It shouldn’t be that hard of a decision to make.” _

_ “Dream, I’d like you to change Tommy’s schedule, please,” Tubbo spoke curtly, before leaving the room, trailed by Niki, Fundy, and Quackity. Niki gave him a quick hug on her way out, apologizing quietly. _

_ “Well then, it’s settled. Tommy, I’ll see you from seven to closing,” Dream smirked and left the room, Sapnap and George right behind him. Tommy could’ve sworn he saw a sorry look in the two men’s eyes. _

  
  


________________________________

  
  


Ranboo and Tommy were both startled out of the hug when they heard the door, and they turned to look. When they saw a familiar obnoxious green hoodie, there was some relief, but the gut feeling came back. He waltzed in, still wearing his sunglasses, inside, at almost midnight.  _ Just like a pretentious asshole _ , Tommy thought to himself.

“Tommy! Hey, buddy, sorry I was here a bit late, got held up with George and Sapnap,” Dream shrugged nonchalantly, as if coming to see Tommy was an afterthought. Clearly he did feel that way. “Ranboo, what’re you doing here?”

“Oh, well, I-I felt bad Tommy was forced here to be all alone, and…” Tommy started drowning him out as he went on. Of course Ranboo was only there out of pity. Why else would he be there? Tommy was abrasive and loud and obnoxious, it wouldn’t make sense for Ranboo to just visit because he wanted to see him. Tommy tuned back in when he heard Dream.

“Well, you should probably be on your way then, Ranboo. It’s nearly midnight, and the last bus leaves fifteen minutes after,” Dream glanced casually at his phone, then back to the boys. “Unless your parents were planning on getting you?”

That was a low blow, and Dream knew it.

Ranboo cringed and curled in on himself.

Tommy blew up with rage.

“What the  _ fuck _ , you bitch?! That was so fucking uncalled for!” Tommy screamed, but Dream grabbed him by the arm, promptly shutting him up. Tommy’s eyes widened, but Dream promptly let go.

“My bad,” Dream hummed, looking at Ranboo, who looked about ready to cry. “Well, Ranboo, you should be off. I’ll keep Tommy company from now on, alright?”

Ranboo nodded and nearly bumped his head on the doorway as he left the store, only remembering to duck at the last moment. With Ranboo gone, Dream decided to mess around a bit.

“So, how close are you to being done?” He asked casually, and Tommy grabbed the tablet from before. “Because, like I said, the bus leaves in like, less than an hour, and I wouldn’t want you to be stuck here. Unless  _ your  _ parents were going to come get you?”

Tommy went rigid, briefly remembering the call he’d received from his mom not even thirty minutes prior. He needed to call her back, or he knew there’d be hell to pay. She knew he had the closing shift, he’d texted her a picture after returning home from his shift the day the decision had been made, but he made sure to not be anywhere but his room until he could get out of the house without seeing either his mom or dad. He knew without a doubt his mom was pissed. He wasn’t anticipating seeing her when he returned home. Tommy knew exactly what would happen. He’d get home and get one step in the door before the screaming started and words would drill into his brain, striking him exactly where it hurt, and they wouldn’t cease until he broke, or-

“Hey, I asked you a question, dude,” Dream crossed his arms impatiently, snapping Tommy out of his thoughts. “Are you almost done?”

“Y-yeah, I am, bitch. What’s it to you?” Tommy stuck out his tongue, and Dream scowled, which Tommy could clearly see under his sunglasses. “I just have to clean the bathrooms.”

“Well then, you better get cracking,” Dream tutted, then went to sit in the stool they kept by the bathrooms. “After all, you only have so much time.”

“You’re not helping? That’s fucking stupid! Closing shift is always at  _ least  _ two people! This is bullshit!” Tommy whined, but Dream ignored him. 

Tommy realized he was shouting at a brick wall and decided to suck it up and just get on with his job. He  _ needed  _ to catch the bus. There was no way in hell he was walking, and he had no idea what would happen if he asked his parents for a ride. Of course, there was Wilbur, but-  _ He’s halfway across the world, dumbass _ , Tommy scolded himself. Maybe Phil… no, he couldn’t do that to Phil. The older man was married, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t have time to carpool a stupid teenager who’d only brought it all upon himself. Phil had been off for the incident, and he would be for the rest of the week, now that Tommy thought about it. He’d requested the time off for something Tommy couldn’t quite remember.

Tommy stewed, lost in thought as he went through the motions of cleaning every stall, mopping the floors, replacing the soap and paper towels. He repeated the process in the next bathroom, then put the supplies in the closet just down the hall. When he came out, Dream was sitting in the same spot, tapping his foot impatiently.

“It’s about damn time you finished,” Dream stood up and glanced at his phone. “Just in the nick of time, too. You’ve got about five minutes before the bus gets to the stop, and it won’t bother waiting if nobody’s there.”

Tommy rushed to get past Dream, grabbing his backpack and other things quickly from his locker, clocking out and turning off all of the lights, before running out the front door towards the bus stop. Meanwhile, Dream watched as he got into his car, feeling a twinge of guilt. The kid needed punishment, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just a bit sadistic, but he felt like maybe he’d gone too far with the jabs about Tommy and Ranboo’s families. Still, someone needed to face the consequences, and Tommy was the guilty party.

________________________________

  
  


Tommy shivered while he waited for the bus. Just a few moments longer and he’d be in a (hopefully cushioned) city bus, on his way home, where he’d have to face his parents. Or not. A boy could hope. He put in his earbuds and played a playlist he’d made with Tubbo, trying not to think about his best friend. When the bus arrived, Tommy swiped his pass and just about collapsed into one of the seats. He hugged his arms around himself and pulled out his phone to see quite a few notifications from almost everyone who worked at the store. He frowned slightly before looking to his most recent. He’d gotten about a dozen texts from Wilbur, nearly twenty from Tubbo, over a hundred from his group chat with Purpled, Ranboo, and Tubbo, and one from Ranboo himself. He looked at Ranboo’s first. He owed it to the older boy. He’d been there for Tommy, just like he said he’d be (even if they both knew Dream wouldn’t actually let him continue going to help Tommy with closing).

**_[Ranboob at 12:02] hey, are you alright? dream was harsh back there._ **

**_[me at 12:17] Yeah, Big Man. Stop texting like a fucking grandma that can’t capitalize for shit_ **

**_[Ranboob at 12:18] i’ll try to remember to do that. text me when you’re home._ **

**_[me at 12:19] You sound like fucking Wilbur. Stop acting old and shit. Go to bed_ **

**_[Ranboob at 12:21] i won’t sleep until i get a goodnight text from you. so if i’m sleep deprived at school that’s on you_ **

**_[me at 12:22] Fine you massive prick. I’ll text you._ **

Tommy acted tough and annoyed over-text, but he knew the both of them knew it was all a big joke anyways, so he didn’t worry too much about if Ranboo took it the wrong way. Tommy forced his eyes open after they started to drift shut, deciding to look at his phone in an attempt to not fall asleep. He took a deep breath and opened his texts with Wilbur.

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:23] hey r u awake? i wanna tell you about everything that happened today :-D_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:24] ur such a little shit, i know for a fact ur still awake_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:26] i’m calling u_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:39] seriously tho u better text me when u get home_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:41] i can’t believe i’m being ignored by a child_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:45] tommy i’m starting to get a little worried_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:46] i know ur probably still working but it’d be cool to know ur not dead_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 11:50] i will personally fly across the ocean and drag ur ass out of that store_ **

**_[Big Bother Wilby at 12:04] tommy seriously r u ok???_ **

**_[me at 12:24] Hey Wil, sorry I worired you and shit. Don’t get yoir panties in a twist, my phone just died while I was finsihimg but now I’m home. Don’t be such a mother hen, bitch_ **

Tommy was lying to Wilbur, but he knew he had another two stops before he got home, and he couldn’t keep Wilbur waiting that long. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and watched lights pass by. He knew he needed to look at the texts from Tubbo, but he was nervous to face the other boy, even if it was just over text. Tommy had been avoiding him at school since the verdict, and he was afraid of what would happen if he talked to Tubbo. Had he really meant all the things he said? God, Tommy was just being sensitive. He knew he needed to grew up. He heard it from almost every person in his life. It stung, but he was used to it. From his parents, from teachers,  from his best friend .

Tommy heard a small ping that signaled they were at the next stop, and he quickly glanced up to make sure it definitely wasn’t his. When he confirmed that it was, in fact, not his stop, he rested his head back against the window. A familiar tightness was making itself known in his chest and Tommy tried to ground himself as best he could. He couldn’t-  _ wouldn’t _ have a panic attack on a godforsaken city bus. Taking in his environment, Tommy tried to do the counting different things you could see and shit, but he could hardly focus on anything while his chest constricted. With shaky hands, he pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. On autopilot, he went to Tubbo’s contact, but stopped himself short of pressing the call button. He couldn’t call Tubbo. It was obvious the other boy hated Tommy, so he scrolled through his contacts. The next obvious choice would’ve been Wilbur, but he couldn’t call him either. Tommy continued going through the process of elimination with all of his contacts, until there were three left.

**Purple Nurple**

**Puns**

**Karl**

Was he really considering calling one of them? The answer was yes, he decided, as the screen began to grow blurry in front of his face and the shaking off his hands grew to be almost too much to even hold his phone. After making sure his earbuds were still properly plugged in, Tommy wasted no time in pressing on the call button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so so much for reading!! again, let me know if i should add any tags/trigger warnings/etc. and i'll make sure to add those ASAP!
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


	3. outside perspectives, two insomniacs, and a broken mop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the next chapter!!! i hope y'all enjoy this one :-)
> 
> TW again for a brief mention of a panic attack, implied/referenced verbal abuse (?), self-deprecating thoughts

Purpled felt his phone buzz on his desk next to him, and was going to pick up, pretend to be annoyed for being called so late, then hang up, but then he saw the caller ID.

**tomathy**

Purpled frowned and hastily picked up. “Tommy? Why are you calling at 12:30 in the morning on a school day? Are you okay?” he couldn’t stop the concern etched in his voice, especially when he heard his friend hyperventilating on the other end.

“Can- Fuck, can you just- can you talk about something? Anything, please?” Tommy’s voice was quiet and choked up, and Purpled swore he heard cars honking in the background.

“I- Uh- okay, well, I’m working on a big project for history. It’s boring as shit, and my partner hasn’t done any of the work, so I’ve been picking up her slack, right? But the thing is, I have no fucking clue what to do. Like, between work and you know, the rest of school, there’s no way in hell I can tackle this whole fucking project. And it’s on some shit I hardly paid attention to in class,” Purpled rolled his eyes, trying to pointlessly talk.

If he was completely honest, he wasn’t too experienced when it came to spewing endless bullshit. He was more used to making snarky one-off comments, and holding a whole conversation on his own was unnatural, especially with Tommy, who was always the one to fill in the lulls of their group’s conversations. Though, the more Purpled thought about it, he hadn’t talked to Tommy all day in class, not even during lunch. Tubbo had seemed awfully distraught by the whole ordeal, while Ranboo had a kicked-puppy expression all day. Purpled tried his best to keep up his ramblings though, and eventually he heard Tommy’s breathing even out, and he coughed a bit.

“You alright?” Purpled asked cautiously, and there was a pause on the other end. “Tommy, you don’t have to explain anything, I’m just worried for you, dumbass.”

“I’m all good, Big Man, but thanks,” Tommy’s voice was hoarse, and Purple felt himself cringe a bit at it himself. “Just uh, riding the bus from work and-”

“Wait, Tommy, what the fuck? You’re just getting home now? And on the bus? It’s nearly one in the morning, dude,” Purple’s frown deepened when he heard Tommy struggle to come up with an answer, but before he could, there was a loud ding on his end.

“I’ve gotta go, grape bitch, I’m at my stop,” Tommy said shortly, a “ _see you at school_ ” dying on his lips right before he hung up, because neither of them were idiots. He’d avoided his friends the day before and he’d no doubt do it again the next day. The lack of Tommy’s presence in every group chat the blonde had been added to was painfully obvious. From the missing morning texts in the teenagers’ chat, to the “ _this meme reminded me of you_ ” in the work group chat, even if it had just been a day and a half, proved to make everyone miss the spritely boy more.

(What Purpled hadn’t realized was that, even though Tommy had just muted the teen chat all on his own, in the work chat, his contact was completely gone from it, and there was a particular culprit for the youngest boy’s absence).

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Ranboo fidgeted anxiously with his hands while he and Purpled waited together in the lunch line. When he noticed Purpled looking over at him a few times, eyebrow raised, Ranboo tried to make himself stop, but he gave up after a while of trying to not fidget so much. He scanned over the cafeteria for the umpteenth time, hoping to see the familiar blonde hair and bright red hoodie of one of his closest friends, but frowned when he, once again, couldn’t find the endearingly obnoxious teen. Ranboo was more than one would call worried after what happened with Dream during the closing shift, but he didn’t dare say a word to any of the other employees. He didn’t want beef with the store owner. God, he couldn’t lose his job. He was finally getting used to having friends. Besides, maybe he misinterpreted what had happened the previous night. It had been late, and his memory wasn’t the most reliable anyways. That had to be it. He was just blowing things out of proportion. Dream wouldn’t treat Tommy, or any of the other employees for that matter, like that.

Ranboo was brought back to reality when he felt a gentle jab at his side. Purpled gave him a knowing look and handed him a tray without a spoken word between either of them. Ranboo huffed and took the tray, loading his tray with a few items, before he and Purpled paid, then went to their usual table, where a particularly dejected looking Tubbo sat, staring down his homemade lunch. His lips were moving, but the words were muttered just quietly enough that Ranboo couldn’t make out what he was saying, until he moved in closer just to hear a repeated mantra of “ _I did what I had to do_ ” leaving Tubbo’s lips. Ranboo’s neutral expression turned into a light frown, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Purpled’s face have a similar shift.

“Tubbo?” Ranboo asked carefully and sat down next to his seemingly distraught friend. “He doesn’t blame you, you know? I talked to him last night after his shift. He-he doesn’t blame you, he just feels awkward hanging out with us. You know he hates opening up about his problems.”

Ranboo jested, lightly nudging Tubbo in the side, and it managed to get a small smile from the other boy. “You’re sure?” Tubbo asked him, almost out of disbelief, and Ranboo nodded, which calmed Tubbo visibly, draining some of the tension from his shoulders.

The three sat in a bit of an awkward silence, none of them entirely sure what to say or do. It made Ranboo realize just how much his outgoing friend carried the conversation with every group he was in. Purpled quickly ate his lunch and rushed to get as much homework done as possible before their shift right after school, while Tubbo continued to look at his like it had personally insulted him. Ranboo looked at his lunch, before deciding against eating it. He’d get a wrap from the deli during work. Phil was magical or something, that’s all Ranboo knew.

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Tubbo looked at Tommy in class from across the classroom, but the other boy didn’t spare him a glance. It was likely due to two things. One- he was fast asleep, face hidden behind his textbook that stood upright on his desk. And two- he’d been purposefully avoiding his friends for the days since Tubbo had abandoned him for the night shift. But Tommy couldn’t surely hate him for it, could he? Dream had given an ultimatum, and Tubbo went with the obvious choice. He supposed he had said some pretty hurtful things… Tubbo decided to try and talk to the boy about it right after school, which was thankfully following their current class.

So, Tubbo sat through the boring notes, making his own, and a copy for Tommy, and didn’t even realize they were so close to the end of the day until the bell rang and Tommy startled awake. Their teacher dismissed them with the lazy wave of a hand, and Tommy rushed to shove his things into his bag. Tubbo got up and slipped the note copy onto his desk, and Tommy looked at him nearly incredulously. Tubbo gave the other boy a small smile and went out the door, unable to fully get himself to face his best friend. In his peripheral he saw Tommy, who already looked worn out, deflate just a bit more, even if there was the ghost of a smile on his own face. Tubbo went down the hall before he could feel any more guilt towards the fate of his best friend. 

Part of Tubbo wanted Tommy to just talk to him, and let the two move past what happened, but the blonde wasn’t one to talk about how he felt. Tubbo so desperately wanted to just apologize to his best friend, and tell him he hadn’t meant what he said, but another part reprimanded himself. He knew he’d meant what he said, at least to some degree, no matter how guilty thinking about it made him feel.

Tubbo sighed as he walked towards the front exit to meet with Ranboo and Purpled, but he could have sworn he saw Tommy duck into the library, which was out of character, but he supposed the boy had been uncharacteristically quiet too. It dawned on him that it made sense for Tommy to be going to the library. He needed somewhere to hang out until his shift, and Tubbo was well aware of his home situation, no matter how hard Tommy tried to hide it from his friends. He was likely the only one who knew most of what was happening, but even him finding out had been an accident.

Tubbo sighed, thinking back to the time their movie night had been interrupted by Tommy’s parents getting home unexpectedly early, a few weeks after they met. They’d wasted no time in yelling at their son about how he was slacking off, and why letting himself get distracted was why his grades were suffering, hence why was a disappointment. Tubbo had been appalled to hear words come out of the adults’ mouths. They were supposed to be nurturing, and caring, but clearly they hadn’t gotten the memo. So, Tubbo had held Tommy while he cried quietly in his room that night, apologizing that he’d had to see that, and saying he wouldn’t blame Tubbo for wanting to not be friends anymore. Tubbo had stuck by his side from then on. Feeling his heart clench when remembering how heartbroken his best friend had been that day, Tubbo sighed and walked out the front doors, giving a quick farewell to Ranboo and Purpled, before he started to walk home.

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Across the sea, a pair of twin brothers got settled into unfamiliar beds, though they both knew each other well enough to know they’d both just be mindlessly scrolling their phones anyways. Perhaps the shared insomnia was an effect of being twins as well.

“I’m worried about Tommy,” Wilbur spoke suddenly, breaking the quiet silence of the room. Technoblade pulled out an earbud and looked his brother, raising an eyebrow curiously, which prompted Wilbur to continue.

“He was working the night shift. And he was there way later than he should have been, even for closing,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I just have a bad feeling. And did you notice how quiet he’s been in the work group chat? He’s never this quiet, ever, in any capacity.”

“If you’re so worried about him, I’ll check on him when I go back early,” Techno shrugged, not moving his eyes from his screen, but Wilbur visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, I’d really appreciate that, thanks,” Wilbur smiled at his brother, who just shrugged again. “Ugh, he hasn’t texted me at all today either. It’s so weird. What could’ve happened?”

“I don’t know, but stop worrying so much. I leave the day after tomorrow, so I’ll check on him then,” Techno waved his hand dismissively at Wilbur, who scoffed.

“I can’t believe you’re just gonna leave one of the coolest vacations ever to go to a college seminar for a school you don’t even attend,” Wilbur rolled his eyes. “But I really appreciate you going to check on Tommy.”

“Don’t make a big deal of it. I mostly miss Phil anyways, I’m going for him,” Techno stated monotonously, scrolling through his phone. They both knew it was a lie. Everyone in the store loved Tommy. He had wormed his way into all of their hearts, the little gremlin. Even after working there for such a short amount of time, Techno had already come to be something of a brother to Tommy, just like Wilbur.

Though, Techno did frown a bit when he remembered the last time he’d seen the blonde. The teenager was mad at Techno for when he’d accidentally embarrassed Tubbo while their business partner, Schlatt had been there. He had made Tubbo feel like even more of a kid, and Tommy had taken that personally. Whatever, Techno could deal with Tommy being angry with him, he just needed to make sure the boy was okay, for both his and Wilbur’s peace of mind.

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Tommy rubbed his tired eyes as he made his way to the back. When he’d finally got home from the closing shift the previous night, he was exhausted, but he couldn’t fall asleep for hours, and the nap he’d taken in class didn’t help (what did help, however, were the extra notes Tubbo had taken for him. Tommy wouldn’t admit that though. He wouldn’t take pity shit. So, he’d stuffed them in the back of his desk and resorted to doing the homework with google). He grabbed the good mop, and was about to go do a quick cleaning of the floors, but he was stopped by Dream, who had been there for a least a half hour. He’d kept true to his word about not leaving Tommy alone after he kicked all the customers and other employees out right at closing time, but Tommy almost preferred if he would just leave him be. He’d micromanaged everything Tommy did and it was getting obnoxious. Tommy had the audacity to snap at him, but Dream had quickly shut down his angry ranting when he threatened more time working the night shift, but he’d be completely alone. Despite hating Dream and his micromanaging, Tommy couldn’t actually handle being completely alone. He needed the reassurance that another living, breathing person was there with him. That he wouldn’t be left behind.

“What’re you doing?” Dream asked somewhat sharply, an annoyed undertone to his voice. “That’s the good mop. You messed up everything, and you need to learn a lesson, okay? You’re gonna take your time mopping. I’ll help out a little bit, because I’m your friend, and I don't want to leave you floundering here. But I’m not doing it all.”

“Yeah, some friend you are,” Tommy mumbled sarcastically, but got to work mopping. He had to stop every few minutes when the handle began feeling loose so he could tighten it, but he eventually got it done.

Dream nodded in approval with a short hum, then looked around the store. “I already did stock, but you still need to clean the bathrooms and wipe down the cash registers,” Dream shrugged and went into the break room, while Tommy sighed and grabbed what he needed to clean the bathrooms, since he was already by them. 

He didn’t bother trying to switch mops. He knew what Dream would do. Take it back, give him a lecture about “learning his lesson,” and make him do it all over again. So, he sucked it up and got to cleaning. But at least Dream was being nice and helping out. Ranboo hadn’t even stopped by yet, like he promised he would. He’d said he come. 

_Wait_ , Tommy thought. _He was doing it out of pity, remember? He said it himself, he feels BAD for you. It’s no surprise none of your friends have shown up to keep you company. You brought this upon yourself, and none of them have THAT much pity for you._

But Tubbo was his best friend. Surely he’d visit, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you again for reading!!! the positive feedback on this has been absolutely astounding and i can't thank you all enough!!! <333
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all veyr dearly!!


	4. a good piece of advice: you don't have to take in every emotionally damaged teenager you come in contact with

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! please enjoy this next chapter! we're getting a bit more techno, and even more tommy angst, as per my usual lol
> 
> TW for non in-depth depiction of a panic attack, manipulation, and self-deprecating/somewhat suicidal thoughts, so please read with caution!!

When the night after when similarly to the previous two, Tommy started to doubt that any of the people he’d considered closest to him were his friends. Tubbo had started  _ actively _ avoiding him. He would look away immediately if they made eye contact during school, and the group chat with him, Tubbo, Ranboo, and Purpled had gone completely dead. He assumed they made one without him. Not that he was surprised, but he was just a little hurt Ranboo would do that to him. Though, the other boy did make sure to say hi during school, when they passed each other between classes. Tommy wished he had more classes with Ranboo. The tall boy had never shown him anything but kindness in the short amount of time they’d known each other

_ He didn’t come yesterday, and he won’t come tonight _ , Tommy thought bitterly as he dragged himself out into the cold December evening. He shivered and finally gave in to pulling back on his red hoodie. He had kept it off all day, but he was fucking  _ cold  _ and no matter how much he was hurt by what Tubbo said, and now his blatant avoidance, the hoodie brought him some of the comfort he so desperately craved. Tommy’s eyes got misty thinking about what he wouldn’t give for a long, grounding hug from Tubbo. But he pushed that thought away. Nobody at the store was his friend except Dream. Dream was the only one who kept showing up to see him. Maybe it was childish of him, but Tommy was scared of being alone in the big dark store at closing. Dream was there when he thought he was alone in the dark.

_ Dream _ was his friend.

A small part of his mind protested that thought. He was doing the bare minimum, even going to far as to hurt Tommy more than help him sometimes.

_ But at least he’s actually been there for me _ .

Tommy sighed, confusing himself. He’d been more isolated than ever, now that all but two people couldn’t be bothered to talk to him. His parents had tried to bring him hell when he’d shown up back home at one the first night, but he was exhausted to the point beyond caring. When they’d yelled at him the whole time he got ready for school that morning, he sat there numb, blanking out, too tired to listen to another word they had to say to him. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before, or wouldn’t hear again.

Another bout of shivers wracked Tommy’s body, despite his best efforts to keep his sweatshirt wrapped tightly around himself. In addition to his slimming amount of friends, Tommy himself had been getting more lithe than he already was. It was getting harder and harder to find the time or energy to make sure he fit in enough meals, and he opted to down copious amounts of caffeine to make up for the lack of energy and tighten his belt a few notches, When Tommy entered the back room a half hour early for his shift, he grabbed a monster from the fridge and cracked it open, then sat at the table, thankful for how empty the room was. Through the door, he could hear some of his _friends_ coworkers laughing, getting up to closing time antics. He heard one of Wilbur’s songs playing on the radio, and recognized Quackity’s voice obnoxiously singing along. 

And God, it  _ hurt _ .

Tommy felt his eyes well up and he ran out the back. He was about to round the corner, when he ran into someone, sending him falling back onto his ass, barely catching himself with his hands in time. When Tommy glanced up at first, he couldn’t make out who it was in the darkness, but then they spoke and Tommy stomach’s grew uneasy.

“Tommy, what’re you doing out here? And why are you so early? You know there’s another twenty minutes with everyone else,” Dream chided, tutting at him. “I won’t make you walk back, but you have to sit back in the loading area where nobody can see you.”

Dream rolled his eyes, his tone comparable to as if he were a parent scolding a child who had made a mess and didn’t clean up after himself. Tommy nearly laughed at his own thought. Dream definitely saw him as a child that needed scolding.

Wait, no. That was wrong. Dream was his  _ friend _ . He’d been there for Tommy.

“Tommy? I’m waiting for an answer,” Dream’s tone suddenly grew to be something slightly more dangerous, and Tommy scrambled to get to his feet.

“Yeah, yes, of course. I’ll stay where nobody can see me,” Tommy mumbled, wiping off his palms. He cringed as his fingers passed over where the asphalt had definitely caused something close to road rash. There were speckles of blood, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, so he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and followed Dream back to the store, eyes trained on the floor.

Dream left him in the loading area and Tommy looked down at his phone, trying to pass the time, scrolling through Reddit and Twitter. He got bored after a few minutes and opened Instagram, an app he hadn’t bothered to check in a while, and immediately saw his friends on his feed. It was a picture of all of the other employees hanging out in the bakery, which had been decked out for Christmas, and they were all eating what Tommy knew to be day-old cookies. Tommy smiled at the familiarity, but bit his lip as a familiar rush of emotions threatened to push out of his throat. He swallowed back a sob and focused on trying to steady his breathing, because  _ fuck  _ he couldn’t believe they’d all gone and done one of the store’s favorite pre-Christmas traditions without him. Sure, he was exiled, but they always waited for everyone to be a part of eating the bakery’s unsold Christmas cookies. Though, Wilbur, Techno, and Phil were missing too. So maybe it was the fault of the others.

_ But WIlbur and Techno are out of the country, and Phil’s off for something, they couldn’t have come,  _ Tommy’s brain supplied.  _ They could’ve included you. Dream didn’t ban you from seeing your friends, he just said you had to work the closing shift. They actively chose not to invite you to come during the day _ .

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut and willed away the tears. He curled up his legs to his chest while he sat against the wall, and wrapped his arms securely around himself as he rested his head on his knees.

And if there were a few tears? Nobody was around to see them but him.

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Techno yawned as he stepped into the terminal, dragging his suitcase behind him, wishing he’d managed to get any amount of sleep on the plane. The airport was crowded with those from all over travelling to see family for the holidays, but all Techno could focus on was how many people were around him, not the reason they were there. He scanned the airport, trying to find the one person he was most looking forward to seeing. When he saw a familiar man holding a sign that said “ _ The Blade _ ” with a smug look on his face next to his wife, Techno’s normally stone cold expression turned to a tired smile. He had to keep himself from racing forward to reach the shorter man, but he kept himself composed.

“Hi, Phil,” Techno sighed in relief as Phil pulled him into a hug. Even though he had to bend over to hug him properly, there was nothing quite like a hug from Phil.

“Hey, mate,” Phil’s voice was warm and comforting, and everything Techno had missed in his short time away from home. “I’m guessing you’re pretty jet-lagged. Let’s get you back home, alright?”

Techno nodded, humming in approval as they separated from the hug. Kristen gave him a much shorter hug, but Techno was happy to get a hug all the same. He was fond of Phil and his wife. He followed them out of the airport and to the parking lot, and got into the backseat, despite both Kristen and Phil’s insistence that he sit in the passenger seat. Techno let their chatter put him to sleep as they started to drive back home.

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Techno jolted awake when he heard the car doors open. He rubbed his eyes and took in his surroundings, seeing Phil and Kristen waiting just outside the car. Techno yawned and got out of the car, his luggage in tow.

“Uh, Phil, why are we not at my place? I’m nineteen, I can look after myself,” Techno raised an eyebrow.

“We know that, but that house of yours is awfully big to be spending so much time alone,” Phil smiled and patted the younger man on the shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll make you something to eat and you can get settled in one of the guest rooms.”

Techno rolled his eyes with a small grin, but followed the couple into their house. When he stepped in, he was immediately smiling at the familiar, homely environment that was the Watson’s home. He looked around and noted a few new things. First was a pair of sneakers he knew were far too big to be Phil’s, a laundry basket of shirts and jeans he knew Phil wouldn’t wear, as well as an oddly familiar hoodie on the coat racket. That’s when it clicked-

“Phil, is Ranboo staying with you?” He asked, glancing again at the jacket.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, Ranboo’s been staying here most days. His parents are out of town on business trips a lot, and we didn’t feel good about leaving the kid alone at home, considering…” Phil paused for a moment “Well, it’s none of my business to tell you why, but yeah, he’s been staying here.”

“You’re going to end up with half the workers here if you don’t stop being so nice,” Techno rolled his eyes. “Especially those teenagers. God, they’re all messes.”

“Nineteen is still technically a teen, mate,” Phil’s smug expression from the airport was back, and Techno grumbled under his breath about needing to get settled and sleep off his jet-lag.

“Before you go, when’s that seminar?” Kristen piped up from the kitchen.

“It’s tomorrow at three. I’ll probably get settled and then go to the store tonight. Wilbur wants me to check on Tommy,” Techno shrugged, but was immediately confused when he saw Phil’s expression shift. “What?”

“It’s probably best that you do. Nobody in the store’s seen him for a few days, outside of Tubbo, Purpled, and Ranboo, but that’s just at school. Niki said she asked Dream, since he’s the one who’s been looking out for him during closing, but Dream said Tommy doesn’t want to talk to any of us,” Phil sighed. “And I’ve been off to get the house set up for Ranboo and I don’t even know why Tommy is working the closing shift practically alone but it’s not right.”

Techno didn’t like that one bit. “That doesn’t sound like Tommy. He can’t stand being alone. And besides, he and Tubbo are inseparable, did something happen?”   
  


“I wish I knew,” Phil frowned and looked to meet Techno’s eyes, but Techno immediately glanced down (he loathed eye contact more than most things). “Listen, go ahead and settle in one of the guest rooms, and then we’ll get some food in you. The both of us can go over to the store tomorrow and catch Tommy while he’s closing. You’re not expected to be working again for another few days though, are you mate?”

“Nope. Not for another two, and when I do go back, I’m working a four hour shift the first day,” Techno shrugged and lugged his suitcase up the stairs, leaving Phil and Kristen to their own devices.

He listened to them play music from the kitchen, laughter and off-key singing filling the house. Techno let himself smile a bit. He really did feel more at home with Phil than all alone in his own house without his twin. It felt more right this way. And Ranboo was an easy kid to get along with. Techno had shared many shifts with him up at the register. They got along well, considering they were so alike. Awkward, tall, and with a dislike for most social interactions. Thinking about Ranboo made Techno think about Tommy, and he couldn’t shake the gut feeling that something bad was happening with his pseudo brother. The gut feeling stuck with him all the way through the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, while he ate dinner with Phil and Kristen.

“Can we go tonight?” Techno said bluntly. He wouldn’t dance around asking for what he wanted. And he wanted, no,  _ needed  _ to check on the blonde.

“You’re really worried about him, aren’t you, mate?” Phil smiled warmly at Techno, who turned a bit red and looked down at his plate.

“‘Course not. I just don’t want the dumbass to get himself into too much trouble,” he muttered, putting one of his last bites in his mouth to avoid talking.

“Well, closing isn’t for another few hours, but we can go then,” Phil reassured Techno, then stood up with his now empty plate and went to the kitchen. Techno followed suit, and the pair cleaned off their dishes.

Techno hoped he wouldn’t be able to confirm his worries when he reached the store that night with Phil.

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As it turned out, Techno and Phil wouldn’t be able to confirm anything for some amount of time. It had started to snow, which normally wouldn’t be an issue, except Phil needed to find his tire chains.

“Let’s go look for them real quick. They should just be in the garage, and with the two of us looking, we’ll find them in no time,” Phil assured Techno, who’d been biting at his lip anxiously as he watched the snow fall outside, with no sign of letting up any time soon.

“Alright,” he muttered and followed Phil into the garage.

They looked all around, checking in boxes and other nooks and crannies of the garage, and yet they still had no luck for nearly half an hour. Eventually they found them, stuck in an impractical box with random camping gear. Once they found the chains, not a second was wasted in securing them on the car in the garage, before rushing back inside the house to get bundled up.

Finally, much later than they would’ve liked, Techno and Phil were off, driving to their work and to a boy they both saw as family.

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“Fuck me,” Tommy muttered incredulously. “Dream, do you reckon the snow will let up soon?”

“I mean, maybe. It’s been going steadily for over an hour,” the man shrugged and stalked toward Tommy, his movements catlike. “At least you’re not walking. Unless… hm, I hope the bus runs even in the snow.”

Tommy’s heart dropped to his stomach. What was he going to do if the bus didn’t run? But they had to. Right? Fuck. He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed, trying to steady himself.

“It looks like you were done pretty quickly tonight, Tommy,” Dream put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and squeezed, but it felt trapping, in the way that Dream’s presence had felt since the first. “A bit too quickly, don’t you think?”

“What- What do you mean? I-I did everything right, just like you told me, Dream,” Tommy furrowed his brows.

“I think you got sloppy. I want you to redo the floors,” Dream said shortly, leaving no room for argument.

“B-but that takes me a good twenty minutes! I’ll miss the bus-”

“Well, you’ll definitely miss it if you don’t shut up and get working. Besides, you’ll be lucky in the first place if they’re still running. So get. To. Work,” Dream hissed, before he pulled a set of spare keys from his pocket, tossing them at Tommy, who just barely caught them. “And lock up when you’re done Lights off and everything, you know the drill.”

“You’re leaving me? To lock up alone?” Tommy looked at the older man, mouth gaping in disbelief. Dream shrugged and started walking towards the entrance, Tommy following close behind, but he was silent until he reached the door.

“Tommy, I’m leaving you to do this on your own because I  _ trust _ you. This is a big responsibility. Don’t fuck this up too, or it’s closing shift, all alone, until the day you lose or leave this job,” Dream leaned in close to Tommy’s face, a smirk playing on his lips. “Have a good night.”

Tommy watched, frozen in place as Dream walked to his car and drove off without any hesitation. When he was out of sight, Tommy cracked. He bawled, crumpling to his knees, because he couldn’t  _ take it  _ anymore. He was so,  _ so tired _ , and he missed his friends and he wanted his parents to just love him the same as other kids’ parents loved them and he wanted his Tubbo back.  Tommy was so tired, he didn’t know how much more he could take before he just collapsed. After he’d calmed down, a defiant part of his brain told him to not mop again, that Dream wouldn’t know. So he didn’t. He put everything away, gathered all of his things from the break room, and went out the front entrance, making sure that everything was locked. He was immediately blasted with cold, wet air, and he’d wished that his sluggish mind had had half the common sense to check the forecast that morning.

Alas, he didn’t, so he hugged his arms tightly around himself, and trekked to the bus stop. By the time he reached it, even after just a few minutes in the snow, he was freezing, and his hoodie was damp, and his toes had grown numb. He knew he wouldn’t get frostbite, but he scolded himself again for being unprepared for the weather. Tommy ducked under the small canopy of the bus stop, and curled himself up on the bench, hugging his knees close to his chest while he laid on his side, praying that a bus was running.  But as time passed, the chances were seeming more and more slim, and by the time the clock on his phone read 12:15 am, he knew he was out of luck. Sleeping on a bus stop bench wasn’t ideal, but walking through the dark snow was even less so.

_Besides_ , Tommy thought numbly, _nobody really cares if you freeze to death out here anyways. It'll make their lives easier._

So, Tommy finally gave in to the cold, and fell asleep, feeling completely drained and completely oblivious to the number of text and call alerts blowing up his phone in the pocket of his backpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!! thank you for reading!! i hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter! i wanted to write yesterday, but i wasn't feeling great, so i didn't get around to it, but i hope you all can accept this one chapter being a bit longer than usual to make up for it haha
> 
> thank you all for every every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!


	5. apparently, red jackets of all varieties are in style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! here's the next chapter, with plenty of Dadza as well as some Big Brother Techno :-)
> 
> TW for vomiting and description of a panic attack; please let me know if i should add any others/missed anything!
> 
> please enjoy :-)

“He’s not picking up or answering my texts. Phil, why isn’t he answering or picking up my texts. He’s always online,” Techno muttered, feeling himself begin to panic as they neared the store. It was well past closing time, and Tommy should’ve been done. He should’ve been chatting with Techno with high energy, to the point where Techno would have to ask him to quiet down. But it was radio silence and that was  _ wrong _ coming from Tommy in any capacity. The kid wasn’t supposed to be quiet, ever. Not physically, not online.

Phil was clearly anxious for the boy as well. Techno noted the way his knuckles were white from how hard they gripped the steering wheel, how his jaw was set, and his brow was furrowed. Normally, Phil would have an eased, relaxed expression, a warming grin on his lips. But now his expression was set in something Techno could only identify as a mix of anger and worry. Techno scanned the street and sidewalk as they drove. He hoped Tommy would have enough self preservation skills to not try and walk home in the snow, in what Techno was sure was an outfit inappropriate for the current weather. However, his hopes were dashed and replaced by a much worse reality when he spotted a figure curled up on the bench of a bus stop, a sickeningly familiar red hoodie wrapped around the shaking form.

“Phil, stop the car, oh fuck, Phil he’s at the bus stop,” Techno said breathlessly, shaking with a mix of anxiety and rage. His chest tightened as he struggled to take any sort of breath. The air wouldn’t enter his lungs no matter how hard he tried. Techno hardly registered that someone was speaking to him, but soon, a calming voice started to break through the noise.

“...kay, Techno. You need to breathe and calm down. You can’t help Tommy if you’re panicking like this. I’m right here, I’ve got you. You are I are going to help Tommy and he’ll be alright, mate,” Phil kept up with the stream of reassurances until Techno had fully calmed down, which he admittedly forced himself to do, but Tommy needed them. So, the moment he was able to breathe properly, Techno just about jumped out of the car.

He rushed to the bench, getting on his knee so he was closer to Tommy’s level. The panic in him started rising when he saw the boy was fast asleep, with his lips tinged blue, and deep rings around his eyes. Tommy looked awful. Techno put a hand on the sleeping boy’s shoulder, but Tommy didn’t stir. Techno moved his hand to the boy’s cheek and the air left his lungs. Tommy’s skin was ice cold.

“We need to get him in the car so we can get him home and warmed up,” Phil spoke from beside Techno, placing a hand on the pink-haired man’s shoulder. “Can you carry him or do you need me to?”

“I’ve got him,” Techno unintentionally snapped, but realized his mistake seconds later and made haste to apologize for snapping at Phil. “Sorry, I-”

“It’s fine, mate,” Phil said. “Let’s get him to the car.”

Techno nodded and moved to pick up Tommy, but he felt a lump in his throat when he felt how light he was. And that was while wet. And with a backpack. Shit.

“Phil he’s so light. He’s too light,” Techno muttered, clutching Tommy close to his chest, despite the dampness of his clothes soaking into Techno’s jacket. “What  _ happened  _ to him?”

“I don’t know, bud,” Phil sighed. “Let’s get him home. We can decide if we need to take him to the hospital after we’ve gotten him dry and warmed up.”

Techno nodded and carried his little brother to the car a few feet away, opting to sit in the back with Tommy’s head resting in his lap. He got himself buckled, when it hit him that he should take Tommy out of his soaked hoodie. With lightly trembling hands, Techno maneuvered Tommy out of the sweatshirt, tossing it on the car floor. He then undid his own winter coat and slipped the boy into it. They were nearly the same height, so it should’ve fit Tommy relatively well, but he looked  _ tiny  _ in it, swallowed by Techno’s red parka, with the white fluffy lining around the hood. Techno moved Tommy’s head back into his lap and ran his hands through the boy’s hair, cringing at how cold and wet it was. The heater kicked on in the car, and Techno glanced up to see Phil cranking up the dials to the highest, warmest settings he could possibly have.

________________________________

  
  


When they got in the house, Phil told Kristen about the situation, while Techno got to work on getting Tommy dried off and warm. He carried the boy, who was still too cold and too unresponsive, up to the guest room he was staying in. He laid Tommy down on the bed, then briefly left him to go to Ranboo’s room just down the hall. He opened the door, somewhat thankful the other boy wasn’t there right then, then began to go through his clothes to find comfortable things for Tommy. Even thought he was taller than Tommy, even more so than Techno, Ranboo had a frame that was more comparable to Tommy’s than Techno. He rifled through the drawers until he found some rather soft pajama pants and a long sleeve shirt, then went back to take care of Tommy. He took off Tommy’s cold, wet clothes, putting in extra effort to not jostle around the teen too much. When he heard a soft whimper after taking off the shirt, Techno was only slightly relieved. At least he was reacting to outside stimuli. But a glance at his ribs, each one scarily prominent, made any relief disappear.

“I’ll hurt whoever did this to you,” Techno mumbled as he slipped Tommy into the pajamas. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and started to towel dry the boy’s hair. After Techno was satisfied, he got Tommy under the covers, before proceeding to pile more blankets on top of him. Techno got into his own pajamas and quickly threw his hair up (he wanted to ask Phil to braid his hair, but the man was downstairs, and Techno was only slightly embarrassed to ask).

A wheezy breath from the bed made Techno glance over. Tommy looked deathly and so,  _ so  _ small, laying underneath all the blankets. After a brief moment to consider the pros and cons, Techno decided to get under the covers. He ran warm, and if it would help Tommy, he’d do it. So, Techno carefully climbed into the bed, moving Tommy so that he was curled into his chest. It was warm in a way that made Techno want to throw off every blanket, but he swallowed down the lump of discomfort that formed in his throat when he remembered it was all for Tommy. He hated that he could feel Tommy’s ribs through his shirt as he laid pressed into his side.

Techno wasn’t sure how long he laid there with his little brother, but after the emotionally and physically taxing day he’d had, he started to drift off, insomnia be damned. He tried to stay awake, but his efforts were in vain. He gave up and fell asleep with his hand still tangled in Tommy’s hair.

________________________________

  
  


When Phil came upstairs with a thermometer in hand and walked into the guest room, he wasn;t sure what to expect, but Techno asleep in bed with Tommy curled up against him was not it. He pulled out his phone and took a picture, before making his way over to the bed. Being careful not to disturb Techno, Phil grabbed the thermometer and put it under Tommy’s tongue and waited for two minutes. When he looked at the thermometer, his heart ached. He’d figured the boy would get a fever after falling asleep in the cold, wearing damp clothes, but he hadn’t wanted to be right. Sighing, Phil took the thermometer downstairs and returned to th room with a washcloth and bowl of water. Techno stirred slightly, but Phil continued, putting the now wet cloth against Tommy’s forehead. Some of the tension visibly left Tommy’s body, but he still looked uncomfortable, even in his sleep. Phil only wished there was more he could do.

Resting in a recliner he moved next to the bed, eventually Phil fell asleep too, and the whole house was silent.

________________________________

  
  


When Tommy woke up, he took note of the fact that his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. He thought he heard people talking in the room by him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, and his eyes felt so heavy still, so he didn’t try and force them open. After a few seconds, he gave up trying to be awake and just let himself return to the blissful nothing.

________________________________

  
  


The next time Tommy woke up, he was slightly more aware. The first thing he was aware of as the fact that he was freezing. The next thing that was brought to his attention was the way his muscles ached. And the last was a voice.

“You awake, Toms?”

And then he promptly fell back asleep.

________________________________

  
  


“I guess that’s a no then,” Phil chuckled when Techno let out a huff of frustration. “Listen, mate. It’s probably better that he’s sleeping this off. His fever hasn’t even broken yet, and you know that he’s going to be in a lot of discomfort when he’s more aware.”

“I know, I know. I’m worried though,” Techno admitted quietly, looking at the blonde, fast asleep on the bed. He looked at his phone on the bedside table and grabbed it, immediately going to his contacts and pulling up Wilbur’s. He hadn’t talked to him since he got picked up from the airport, and even that was a quick text. 

“Are you calling Wilbur?” Phil glanced from Techno to his phone, and Techno just nodded. He pressed call and waited, standing up and starting to pace around the small guest room. It took just two rings for Wilbur to answer.

“Hey, have you talked to him yet?” Wilbur skips the pleasantries for once, and for that, Techno is grateful. Maybe Wilbur could feel the anxiety through the phone coming from his twin, but he was glad they were getting right to the point.

“I-I’ve done more than talked to him, Wil. He’s asleep right now, but he looks like shit. He’s way too light, and God, the eyebags on that kid looked like two black eyes,” Techno ran a hand through his hair, his pacing only getting faster. “To top it all off, he’s got a fever, which still hasn’t broken.”

“He got sick? I mean, the kid hardly ever sleeps, but I thought we took care of that problem months ago,” Wilbur sighed on the other side of the phone, and Techno could see his expression clear as day, as if he were in the same room. “What happened when you talked to him?”   
  


Techno frowned, thinking of how to answer. “That’s the thing, Wil. I haven’t talked to him at all. When Phil and I went to check on him at work, we found him curled up, asleep at that bus stop, with nothing but that red hoodie of his.”

“What the  _ fuck _ ?! Tommy may be a kid, but- but he’s smarter than that, Tech. He wouldn’t just do that,” Wilbur muttered, trying to calm himself, if the heavier breathing on the other end of the line was anything to go off of. “Please take care of him, and keep me updated. Please let me know the second he wakes up, I need to talk to him.”

“Of course, Wil. I’ll keep you in the know,” Techno sighed again for the umpteenth time, and waited until Wilbur hung up.

“I’m assuming he didn’t like what he heard?” Phil asked softly, a hand carding through Tommy’s hair as best he could, though the dirty blonde strands were mostly plastered to his head with sweat.

“Nope. But I don’t like it either,” Techno rubbed his eyes and looked at his phone. It was nearly eleven in the morning, and Techno felt more well rested than he had in months, but he wished it were for a good reason, and not the fact that he’d been trying to keep someone he considered family warm through the night after he’d found him asleep, hypothermic.

“I’m not going to the seminar,” He stated tersely, glaring at his phone as if it were the cause of all of his problems.

“I think it’d be good for you to go,” Phil countered, though not antagonistically, as he laid a cloth back onto Tommy’s forehead. “You could take your mind off of things.”

“I already dropped out and gave up on college anyways. I’m not leaving Tommy’s side until he wakes up, at least,” Techno frowned as he looked at Tommy again. There was a sheen of sweat covering his whole face, and his features contorted from pain, but Phil gave Techno a look that he knew meant not to get involved.

Falling back into the recliner Phil had previously been occupying, Techno watched the steady rise and fall of Tommy’s chest, but didn’t miss the way each breath sounded like a struggle. Pinching the skin between his eyebrows, Techno leaned and rested his head in his hands, willing Tommy silently to just get better.

________________________________

  
  


Tommy woke up again not too long after, mumbling mostly incoherent nonsense, but when Phil heard something about needing to  _ puke his guts out _ , he rushed to grab a spare bowl he’d brought up to the bedroom specifically for the instance that this happened. He and Techno got Tommy into a sitting position, and just in enough time, because Tommy started vomiting, and some bile came up, but it was just dry heaving after that, nothing came up. Techno was a little relieved, but it was clearly causing Tommy intense amounts of discomfort, because he started sobbing as he retched, not a single word coherent by then.

“You’re okay, kiddo. We’ve got you,” Phil rubbed circles on Tommy’s back, saying comforting nonsense as the teen kept trying to get the nauseous feeling to stop, his stomach cramping as he continued to retch with nothing coming up.

When Tommy’s dry heaving finally subsided, Techno grabbed a water bottle he’d brought up earlier and opened it, handing it to Phil. Tommy was clearly still unaware of exactly where he was, and Techno was fairly certain he’d just startle the boy, so he stood back a bit. Phil was better at comfort anyways

“Hey, Toms, can you drink some of this for me? You’ll feel loads better if you get some water in you,” Phil gently asked the teen, who’s half-closed eyes looked glossed over, and his cheeks were flushed with fever, but he gave a small nod, and Phil held the bottle, helping Tommy to drink. He was careful to not let Tommy drink too fast though, knowing how sensitive his stomach was right then.

Once Tommy decided he’d had enough, his eyes slipped all the way shut, and Phil quickly took his temperature before he got him settled back in bed. When he read the number, he let out a breath of relief and looked at Techno, who stood rigid in the corner, waiting to be invited back over.

“His fever finally broke,” Phil chuckled, putting a cloth over Tommy’s forehead again. “He’ll probably start looking up from here, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Techno mumbled, looking at Tommy. “Thank you, Phil.”

“Anytime, mate. Now, let’s let the child sleep,” Phil chuckled and put an arm around Techno’s shoulder, leading him out of the room. They sat on the couch and Phil put on something he knew wouldn’t take too much energy for Techno to focus on, and Kristen joined them as well. Phil was happy to have his wife on one side of him, and one of the boys he cared dearly about on the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!! we've finally got (at least some of) SBI together!! next chapter our boy Ranboo will be back, and we'll get some more ~tea~
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all dearly!!!


	6. a brief explanation as to why everything has gone to shit, with copious spelling errors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for such positive responses to this story, it genuinely means the world to me!
> 
> TW this chapter for hospitalization and implied/referenced child abuse. let me know if i should add anything <3

Tommy, much to Techno, Phil, and Kristen’s dismay, didn’t seem to be getting better. Even after his fever had supposedly broke, he wasn’t improving like he should have been, no matter how much they tried to get fluids and medicine in him. Every time they’d gotten something substantial, or even remotely helpful in his system, he threw it back up. Techno couldn’t stand to see his baby brother hurting like that.

“I think we may have to take him to the hospital, mate,” Phil frowned, looking at Techno, who had been watching Tommy like a hawk. “He’s already malnourished, and while that’s not ideal, we could manage if he was keeping fluids down, but he’s not.”

“We should take him,” Techno agreed with no hesitation, his eyes still trained on Tommy, who was shaking in the bed, from what he assumed were chills.

“Alright then, I’ll go get the car started, you meet Kristen and I down in the garage, alright? Text me if you need help,” Phil squeezed Techno’s shoulder and walked out of the guest room.

Techno looked at the blonde and tried to figure out the best way to move him without disturbing him too much. Sighing, he decided to just pick Tommy up in his arms, hooking an arm under his knees and the other under his back. The crease in his brows only deepened when he felt just how light Tommy was. Without the soaking clothes and backpack to add a bit of extra weight to him, Tommy was  _ horrifyingly  _ easy to carry. Techno made sure he had his phone in his pocket, before slipping on his shoes and going down to meet Phil and Kristen in the garage.

“Oh, the poor darling,” Kristen sighed as Techno climbed into the backseat, Tommy’s head in his lap, mirroring the car drive from just over a day and a half before.

“He’ll be okay, he’s a tough kid,” Phil looked at Kristen when he said it, but Techno knew Phil was directing it at him as well. “Everyone buckled in?”

Once the two others confirmed, Phil began to drive to the hospital, a light snow falling as they made their way through the mostly empty streets. Techno pulled out his phone and opened his messages. He quickly texted Wilbur a more recent update, though assured him that Tommy would be taken care of, before switching to the work group chat. They were having a conversation about holiday plans, some of them even working out to spend the day of or after Christmas together, and it made Techno’s blood boil. He took a deep breath and began typing, his name popping up in the group chat causing a few people to speak up about it.

**[Sapnap at 2:47 pm]** yoooooooo guys  _ tHe bLAdE  _ is here

**[Tubbo at 2:48 pm]** hello techcnovlade!

**[Purpled at 2:48 pm]** tubbo for the love of god, just turn on autocorrect

**[George at 2:49 pm]** Hey Techno, you haven’t been on here for a while! Good to see you man

**[Niki at 2:49 pm]** his and wilbur’s family have been on vacation, i thought you’d know this lol

**[Sapnap at 2:50 pm]** be nice to the old man niki he’s aging. not as sharp as you used to be, gogy

Techno inhaled sharply through his nose as he continued to type, ignoring all of their messages. He couldn’t recall a time in his life when he’d typed a message longer than what he was currently typing. He was in utter disbelief at how immature and ignorant they all were. After a few minutes of typing and spell-checking, Techno sent his message.

**[Me at 2:54 pm]** I don’t know what’s gone on here in the last week, and somebody better start explaining. Because yesterday, I found Tommy, asleep in the snow at a bus stop past midnight. He has a fever, and he’s malnourished, not to mention the eye bags that make him look like a raccoon. Now, I know Tommy has a knack for not taking care of himself, but he’s in bad shape. Such a bad shape, in fact, that I’m currently on the way to the hospital with him. So, somebody should start explaining soon, or you’ll all have me to deal with.

Techno huffed out an annoyed breath, and turned off his phone as it started exploding with messages, even a few calls. But they’d reached the hospital anyways, and Techno wasn’t going to give the others the satisfaction of an answer yet, because Tommy was his priority. Phil somehow managed to find a parking spot close to the entrance (reinforcing Techno’s theory that Phil was some kind of god once again). They brought Tommy into the emergency room entrance, yet he didn’t stir again, only increasing all of their concern. Phil filled out the forms he was handed as best he could, giving them the basic information that he had, and then they waited.

And waited.

They kept waiting, all anxiously stealing glances at the feverish teen in Techno’s hold, until a nurse with a gentle smile told them they were ready for him. Reluctantly, Techno let Tommy out of his sight for the first time in the better part of a day, and they sat in tense silence. Phil had one hand intertwined with one of Kristen’s, and the other was resting on Techno’s shoulder. Techno himself pulled out his phone and looked to see what the damage was.

**[132 new messages in teamwork makes the DREAM work, bitches]**

**[43 new messages from Tubbo]**

**[10 new messages from George]**

**[4 new messages from Purpled]**

**[11 new messages from Niki]**

**[8 new messages from Ranboo]**

**[15 new messages from Sapnap]**

Techno kept scrolling and saw he had countless messages and missed calls from everyone in the work group chat, save for Wilbur, who’d already known, and Dream. Unsurprising. Techno thought about who to get back to, and decided on Tubbo. The kid was probably still mad at him, but he clearly needed to know what was happening with his best friend. As Techno scrolled through the messages the younger boy had sent him, he could see the growing levels of panic as he messaged.

**[Me at 4:09 pm]** Don’t worry, Tubbo. Phil, his wife, and I are all here with Tommy. He’s sick and pretty underweight, but he’ll be fine.

**[Tubbo at 4:09 pm]** will you pleese let me now when he wakes up? i have too apologise

**[Me at 4:10 pm]** For what?

Techno frowned at his screen. He and Tommy were best friends, and Techno had a hard time believing Tubbo would hurt Tommy, under any circumstance. It made Techno uneasy to even hear the brunette suggest that he could be responsible for the Tommy that was currently in the emergency room, feverish and looking like he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in a week.

**[Tubbo at 4:11 pm]** i’m the reason he was working the closing shift

**[Me at 4:11 pm]** What? Why?

The conversation lulled for a few moments, but he saw Tubbo was typing, so he waited patiently.

**[Tubbo at 4:16 pm]** tommy was in charge of a big deliverey btu he broke one of the pakcages and ruined george’s christmas display for the store. dream said he would fire tommy, ranboo, and some others unless i chose to make tommy do the night shif t alone

**[Tubbo at 4:17 pm]** but then tommy stopped talking to ranboo, prupeld, and i at school and he stoped texting in the work chat too. dream told us tommy didn’t want to see any of us and said he hated us

**[Tubbo at 4:17 pm]** i didnt want any of thus to happen i didnt even want to make him work closing all alone, please believe me

Techno sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. Phil and Kristen both gave him concerned looks, but Techno just shook his head and went back to his phone.

**[Me at 4:18 pm]** I believe you. Once Tommy is awake, I’ll let you know, and you can come and help explain everything that happened. This isn’t your fault.

Techno rolled his shoulders, feeling tense. Phil gave him another look, but Techno shrugged and sat back in his chair. Phil put his hand back on Techno’s shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. Techno couldn’t stop himself from slightly leaning into the touch. His uncharacteristically affectionate response elicited a small chuckle from Phil, and Techno shot him a small glare, but didn’t stop.

It wasn’t until nearly half an hour after Tommy had been taken back to a room that the nurse from before approached them. She still had the soft, kind smile from before, but she looked a bit sad. Techno didn’t like the twinge of sadness. It made his stomach twist in an uncomfortable way. Something was wrong, something must have gone horribly wrong, because she wouldn’t have that look on her face , she wouldn’t look like she was about to deliver heart breaking news and-

Techno was pulled out of his racing thoughts when Phil squeezed his shoulder again, but neither said a thing about it, opting to give their attention to the nurse who stood in front of them.

“You three are here for Thomas Simons?” They all nodded, and the nurse continued. “Well, the good news is that he’s stable. His temperature was worrying, but we’ve gotten it down now, and he’s being administered fluids. The other concern is his weight. His BMI is dangerously low.”

Phil sucked in a breath, then addressed the nurse. “Is he ready to have people come see him yet?”

“He’s still unconscious, but you’re welcome to go in and see him” she gave them all an apologetic look. “Are any of you his parent or guardian?”

When all of them shook their heads, she simply nodded lightly. “We’ll need to be in contact with his parents or guardians soon.”

Phil and Techno both shared a look, but just nodded with the nurse. They were both well aware of Tommy’s parents and the harsh words he often got from them, but in their haste to help Tommy after finding him, they had somewhat forgotten about Mr. and Mrs. Simons. Neither Phil nor Techno were sure what to expect, but they knew it wouldn’t help Tommy in addition to everything he was already going through. However, they couldn’t exactly tell the nurse this, so they just let her lead them to Tommy’s room.

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Kristen saw herself as a rather nurturing, caring person. Her and Phil weren’t ready for kids of their own yet, but with the way things were going, it seemed they would be taking care of nearly all of the teens Phil worked with. Not that Kristen would ever complain. She couldn’t. All of the kids had made a place in her heart the moment she met them. Under all of the eye bags and lack of self-preservation, Kristen knew they weren’t irresponsible or even trying to completely ignore their needs. They were just kids trying to juggle having a job in addition to high school, and she was more than ready to take care of them any time she stopped by the store, whether it be with baked goods or sandwiches, or just moral support. She loved hearing Wilbur play his songs and bring smiles to all of the customers’ and employees’ faces. She loved seeing Tubbo in the bakery, working hard at baking something or just chatting with customers as he manned the register. She loved watching Ranboo, trying his hardest as he scanned and bagged groceries, making awkward conversation as best he could. She loved Purpled and his one-off comments that always managed to make others laugh. And Kristen loved Tommy, the youngest employee and head of the grocery department, even though he was so young. He’d been working there for a long time.

Kristen hadn’t had the chance to check on any of the teens at the store other than Ranboo, but even then, he was the one coming over. His parents were gone too often, for too long, and after one instance of Phil finding him sick and alone in an empty house without any food in sight, they both knew they needed to take care of the tall, awkward boy. And they had been. So much so, that Phil had taken a week off so they could turn one of the guest rooms into a more permanent room for Ranboo to occupy whenever he needed a place to stay. They’d taken it upon themselves to decorate and buy him a full wardrobe, and were planning on surprising the boy with the completed room, when Phil decided the room could wait, choosing instead to go pick up Techno from the airport.

In the beginning, Kristen didn’t know Techno as well as she knew his twin, but she knew Phil cared about him deeply, like another son, so she took him in with open arms. He seemed unsure of her at first, but they bonded, just like Kristen had with all of the others. Kristen came to know the reserved, smart, sarcastic twin of Wilbur, and enjoyed seeing him among the others when she went to visit them while working.

What Kristen didn’t enjoy seeing was the heart wrenching scene in front of her. Tommy, a brash, spitfire boy, who filled up every room he entered, reduced to a small, sickly figure, almost as pale as the uncomfortable hospital sheets he was laying on. She practically hears Technos breaths stop behind her, and she turns to see hishim frozen in the doorway, staring at Tommy. She puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he shakes himself out of thoughts, walking towards the bed. He deposits himself in the chair at the bedside and watches with an intensity Kristen had only seen in Techno on rare occasions.

“He’ll be okay, sweetheart, you heard the nurse,” Kristen stood next to the chair Techno was in, putting her hand back on his shoulder. “He’s stable now, and he’s where he has people who can help him. Try and relax a bit, okay?”

Techno nodded, but he stayed sitting tensely, not moving his gaze from Tommy for a second. Phil wrapped his arms around Kristen, and she was quick to return the hug, but he leaned in close and whispered in and ear.

“We need to talk,” Phil’s voice was inaudible to the rest of the room, but Kristen heard him perfectly, and just nodded, breaking out of the hug. “Techno, Kristen and I will be right back, okay? We’re gonna go get something to eat. D’ya want anything in particular?”

Techno shook his head wordlessly, and Phil sighed, leaving the room with Kristen close behind. When they were away from Tommy’s room and approaching the cafeteria, Phil started to talk again.

“I’m nervous,” he admitted, looking at his wife. “Tommy’s parents… well, he hasn’t given us much, but we know they’re awfully hard on him, and I’m not sure how they’ll react to him being in the hospital. I don’t even know if they’ve noticed he hasn’t been home for two days, and if they have, who knows how they’ll act when they get here.”

Kristen rubbed his back comfortingly as they walked. “It’ll be okay. We’ll make sure he’s alright.”

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Techno didn’t remember when, but at some point while watching Tommy with a fiery intensity, he’d grabbed the hand closest to him, holding it protectively, but was cautious not to hold it too tight. Under different circumstances, Techno would’ve been amused at how insanely different they were, even when it came to their hands. But all he felt was Tommy’s too cold, too thin hands against his warm, calloused ones. Techno knew he couldn’t do anything about him being in the hospital, but he wished he’d done better while Tommy was back at Phil’s house. Maybe if he’d done more, Tommy would’ve actually gotten better, but he’d failed and Tommy was laying in a hospital bed, looking terribly small.

Techno sighed and rested his chin in his other hand against his knees, looking out the window for a brief moment. A small groan made Techno’s attention shift right back to the bed, where Tommy was stirring lightly. Techno expected him to fall back asleep, but sucked in a sharp breath when he blinked a few times, looking Techno in the eyes with glossy, grey eyes where they should have been bright blue.

  
  


“Techno?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me in the comments: dream will have his shit rocked in chapter 6 :-)  
> also me, writing the story: ____
> 
> i swear, i always leave y’all on cliffhangers ashagxgsshsjjcjd SORRY, i hope you guys can forgive me.
> 
> thank you all so much for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all so so much!!


	7. two best friends make up, multiple workplace laws are broken, and a few scores are settled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty guys!! here's chapter 7, i hope y'all are excited for techno to start making some violence
> 
> SERIOUS tw for suicidal thoughts, manipulation + gaslighting, physical violence, in-depth depictions of panic attacks, and self-deprecation
> 
> be safe lovelies and enjoy the chapter <3

Dream’s expression remained passive as he read the texts of the group chat from his desk at home. He felt a twinge of guilt. He didn’t mean for things to escalate so badly. Yeah, he was an asshole, and he got some enjoyment out of giving his employees, even his friends a hard time, but he didn’t _mean_ to get Tommy hospitalized. But, he didn’t make him sit out in the snow. He could’ve called someone to get him. Besides, it was too late for Dream to go back and undo what happened, so he’d have to suck it up and face the consequences. Thinking of Tommy, curled up alone in the snow, asleep made Dream cringe. The boy had gotten worse and worse as his “exile” had gone on. Dream didn’t miss the way that Tommy’s already too-big for his frame hoodie had appeared even larger on him. Or the way his knees trembled lightly if he stood for too long, having to lean some of his weight into a wall.

He sighed and rubbed his hand across his face, glancing back down at the texts. He knew he had dozens from George and Sapnap, at least a few from Tubbo, and one from Phil, along with assorted messages from the others. Dream didn’t want to deal with any of them right then, but he’d have to at some point, and he’d rather do it at home, over text, while he could have time to think out his responses. There was no logical way to actually explain what he had done. It sounded bad regardless, he knew that, and it’s because what he did was bad. He took the joke a bit too far. Sue him.

He debated for a few long minutes, before opening the messages from Tubbo. He could handle Tubbo well enough. Sure, he was fiercely loyal to Tommy, more than anyone else. But he also shared some of the blame in what had went down. Dream knew for a fact that Tubbo felt guilty after reading Techno’s message, after seeing the direct consequences of the isolation Tommy had been forced into, if his dozens of messages in the chat after were anything to go off of.

**[Toby “Tubbo’ at 2:59 pm]** dream what happened i though t you saud you would look after tommy while he had closugn

**[Toby “Tubbo” at 2:59 pm]** waht was h e doing out in the snow at abus stop??

**[Toby “Tubbo” at 3:00 pm]** dreem i trusted yuo to make sure he wa s okay

**[Toby “Tubbo” at 3:01 pm]** this wooldnt have happened if you didnt force me to change his shift

**[Toby “Tubbo” at 3:02 pm]** you shouldnt have made me chose between my best friend or our jobs

Dream sucked in a sharp breath, partially because he was feeling the twinge of guilt in his gut agan, and partially because he was getting slightly annoyed. Sure, Dream didn’t like the disrespect, but he could commend the kid for having the balls to talk back to him like that. If Tubbo of all people had sent him messages with that much attitude, he could only imagine what the rest of his inbox looked like. He carefully considered for a few moments, before he started to type.

**[Me at 4:36 pm]** You’re right, I shouldn’t have, but guess what? It happened

**[Me at 4:36 pm]** Don’t forget either, Tubbo, you chose to exile Tommy.

**[Me at 4:37 pm]** You’re just as guilty as I am

**[Me at 4:38 pm]** You didn’t forget what you said to him, did you? Because I didn’t. And I recall you telling him he needs to “grow up” and that he “fucks everything up”

**[Me at 4:38 pm]** Some friend you are

**[Me at 4:40 pm]** Maybe he felt useless because you told him he’s nothing but a fuck up, so he didn’t see the point anymore, and decided to sleep in the snow

**[Me at 4:40 pm]** It may have been mostly on me… but a big part of this is your fault too

________________________________

  
  


Tubbo struggled to breathe as he read Dream’s messages in the back supply room of the bakery, where he was supposed to be getting a bag of flour for Niki and Eret, but he’d stopped when he heard his phone chime. He’d hoped it was Techno, telling his Tommy was awake and that he could make sure his best friend was okay, but a lump formed in his throat when he saw multiple text notifications from Dream. He read them, and he wanted to come up with something to say, but his limbs were suddenly out of his control and he couldn’t breathe, he  _ couldn’t breathe, why couldn’t he breathe _ -

He gasped for air, pulling at the front of his shirt, in attempt to maybe loosen the constricting feeling that only got tighter and tighter while he tried to get something,  _ anything _ to get through to his lungs, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

_ You did this you did this you did this you did this you did this you did this- _

_ Tommy tried to kill himself and it’s your fault _

_ What kind of friend are you? _

_ His death would’ve been all your fault _

_ You should’ve tried talking to him _

_ But Dream said he hated you? _

_ He had a right to say that _

_ But Ranboo said he hadn’t said that _

_ Why did he stop talking to you and the others then? _

_ He had a right to be upset with us _

_ Yeah, and he was so upset with you all that it drove him to try and off himself so he wouldn’t have to deal with you or- _

Tubbo felt two strong hands grab him by the shoulders, and he faintly registered someone talking to him, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was like he was trying to listen to someone talk to him underwater. Briefly he thought of last summer, when he and Tommy had spent the hours they weren’t working splashing around at the local pool, trying to guess what the other was saying in the chlorinated water. The memory of his best friend just forced a choked sob out of Tubbo’s throat, but it forced him to take a gulp of air, and soon he was coughing, all the while taking in greedy breaths. As he caught his breath, Tubbo became more aware of his surroundings, and soon he processed the fact that there wasn’t one, but two people in the room with him. He also still heard someone talking, hands rubbing comforting circles on his back. Wiping at the warm tears streaming down his cheeks, Tubbo took a shuddering breath as he finally processed what was being said to him.

“...in the bakery. Niki and I have got you, Tubbo, you’re in the bakery,” Eret’s talking was the only noise in the room other than the whir of the overhead fans of the store, their voice soothing and grounding as Tubbo kept trying to take deep breaths. “You with us, Tub?”

Tubbo nodded, not trusting himself to speak just yet. Niki smiled and rubbed his back, while Eret ran their fingers through his hair.

“Do you want to tell us about what happened?” Niki asked gently, but Tubbo shook his head, subconsciously leaning into her touch. “Alright, well, why don’t you come back out to the front okay? You can take a breather, but you shouldn't sit back here all on your own.”

“Okay,” Tubbo agreed quietly and stood up on shaky legs, thankful when Niki put an arm around his waist without saying anything more on the matter. Eret grabbed the bag of flour they’d asked for, and Tubbo’s stomach twisted in a knot, feeling guilty. When they got back to the front, Tubbo tucked himself into a spot behind the counter, out of sight of the customers. Niki handed him a cookie, and he smiled gratefully at her.

“Hey, Tubbo?” Eret crouched down so they were eye level, and they had pushed their sunglasses to the top of their head. “We don’t have to talk about what happened yet, but we should, alright?”

“Alright,” Tubbo nodded and grabbed his phone from his pocket as Eret walked away. He glanced at his messages and ignored Dream’s contact, instead going to Phil’s, seeing the man had texted him.

**[dadza >:-) at 4:47 pm] ** Hey kiddo, what time does your shift end?

**[me at 4:48 pm]** 5 i took the earlier shift today

**[dadza >:-) at 4:48 pm] ** Kristen is going to come over and pick you up and bring you to the hospital, if your parents are alright with that?

**[me at 4:49 pm]** i will text themmrguht now

**[dadza >:-) at 4:49 pm] ** Just let me know when :)

Tubbo smiled down at his phone. Phil was one of the best people he knew. He texted his parents and got the okay from them, texting Phil excitedly. When Niki and Eret saw his mood change so drastically, they were confused, but glad to see the boy happy.

________________________________

  
  


“I’m really worried,” Ranboo frowned, looking down at his hands as he sat in the break room with Purpled, Punz, and Ponk. “I-I can’t help but feel like this is my fault. I should’ve checked on him, but Dream said he didn’t want to see us, and-.”

“Listen, kid, you can’t blame yourself,” Punz fiddled with his gold chain around his neck, while Purpled nodded, taking a sip from his Red Bull. “Dream was a slimy bastard, and nobody is letting him get away with this, alright? Let’s wait until we get the full story.”

“Seriously, there’s no way you could’ve prevented this, okay?” Ponk asked, looking Ranboo in the eyes. “Tell us you know this isn’t your fault.”

Ranboo squirmed under the direct eye contact but nodded. “I know this isn’t my fault.”

“Good,” Purpled patted his shoulder and went to leave the break room. Just as he left, Quackity and Karl walked in.

“Phil’s wife just picked up Tubbo, so I’m guessing they’re on their way to Tommy,” Quackity informed them, before settling down into his own chair, and they all blinked and suddenly he had snacks in front of him.

“How the fuck do you do that?” Punz raised an eyebrow, looking at Quackity, who just shrugged.

“ _ Magic _ , dipshit,” Karl rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing, and the room started laughing, even Ranboo, who seemed to ease up in the presence of his friends.

________________________________

  
  


“You guys don’t have to stay here, I don’t want to waste your time-” Tommy started to tell the older two, but started coughing, and Phil moved to rub his back, until the coughing ceased. Techno sat there, frozen in place, but worry was clear on his normally expressionless face.

“No way we’re leaving you alone again, mate,” Phil squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, but Tommy shrank away from the motion, and Phil immediately took back his hand. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Tommy frowned, and it physically hurt Techno to see him so quiet and just  _ small _ . If there was one thing Tommy wasn’t, it was small. He was tall and loud and took up every bit of attention in any crowd he was a part of. Techno felt his stomach twist every time he looked at the blonde, so he opted to stay on his phone since the blonde had woken up, anxiously texting back and forth with Wilbur, who assured Techno that he and the rest of their family would be home the next day. Techno was just glad Wilbur would be back to comfort Tommy. It was no secret the kid loved Wilbur more than anyone else in the store, second only to Tubbo.

“Uh, maybe- maybe I can help with that bit?” A voice came from the doorway, and Techno watched Tommy’s eyes widen to the size of saucers as Tubbo peeked into the room behind Kristen.

“Tubbo?” Tommy’s voice sounded so  _ wrong _ , and every person in that room knew it. “You’re here?”

Techno glanced over to Tubbo, whose own eyes were watery. “Of course I’m here, Big Man! I-I was so worried when I saw Techno’s text and-”

“If you were so worried then why didn’t you bother stopping by? Why did you stop talking to me at school?” Tommy accused, a bit of his old spitfire personality coming back, but it was quickly squashed. “I was so  _ alone  _ and even Ranboo stopped talking to me. Dream was the  _ only  _ one who was there for me. He was my only friend.”

The whole room was at a standstill at that, all of them just staring at Tommy, who was looking down at the sheets, which he clenched in both fists, willing himself not to cry. Tubbo slowly approached the bed and Techno stood up, offering his chair to the brunette. He accepted it with a small nod of thanks. Techno moved and stood beside Phil, who gave him a squeeze with one arm.

It took a bit for Tommy and Tubbo to break the awkward silence, but Tubbo summoned the courage to talk first. “Tommy, I- the others and I didn’t mean to ignore you. But I thought you were still angry and then, when I asked Dream, he said that you told him you hated us, so I thought I should give you space.”

“I never- God, Tubbo, I could never hate you,” Tommy whispered, still refusing to look anyone in the eye, but he looked at Tubbo’s lap, where his own hands were fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt. “I thought you hated me because I fucked everything up while you were in charge.”

“I could never hate you either, Tommy,” Tubbo said frantically. “I am  _ so  _ sorry about everything I said that day, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean any of it, and- and I’ve spent every day since feeling guilty about it but I didn’t know how to talk to you after Dream told me you  _ hated  _ me and then- then there were the texts from him about what happened so I didn’t know if you’d even let me come in the room-”

“What did Dream text you?” Techno raised an eyebrow suspiciously, and Tubbo visibly blanched. He fished his phone out of his pocket and opened it to his conversation with Dream, before handing it over to Techno. Tubbo’s heart raced as Techno and Phil scanned over the conversation, both visibly getting angrier as they scrolled.

“What? What did he say?” Tommy looked up at the two men, frowning at being left out of the loop.

“Nothing you need to read, mate,” Phil assured him, sounding composed and warm for the teen, but Techno could tell it was a thin veil over his white hot rage. He couldn’t blame the older man, he felt similarly.

“I’ll be back,” Techno muttered under his breath and stomped out the hospital room, Tommy flinching a bit at how angry he seemed.

“He’s not mad at you, bud,” Phil promised Tommy, who just nodded and looked down. “I need to talk to Tubbo in the hall for a second, okay?”

Tommy and Tubbo both looked hesitant to leave one another, but Tommy nodded and Phil led Tubbo out to the hall, while Kristen sat down next to Tommy’s bedside and took his hand in her’s, rubbing circles in his palm with her thumb. Phil closed the door behind them and looked at Tubbo, an unreadable emotion in his eyes.

“Tubbo, I need you to listen to me, okay?” Phil asked gently and Tubbo didn’t know why, but a lump began to form in his throat, so he just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. “I haven’t spoken to Tommy about why he didn’t call anyone, what exactly went down, or what was going through his head at the time, but I promise you, it’s not your fault. You can’t listen to Dream. I’m sorry he said those things to you. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you to read, yeah?”

Tubbo opened his mouth, but a sob made its way out of his throat instead of an answer, and he nodded as Phil enveloped him in a hug. “You are not responsible for this, Dream is. Tommy wouldn’t have done that, and definitely not because of you. Don’t put the blame on yourself.”

Tubbo tried to form a sentence, but more tears kept coming. Phil just rubbed up and down his back, whispering quiet reassurances. While it wasn’t nearly as bad as the panic attack he’d had in the bakery, he felt the last bit of his energy drain from him and he leaned into Phil, who took it in stride, just keeping the boy close.

________________________________

  
  


“We need to do something about this, he literally got a kid hospitalized!” Sapnap threw his arms up as he sat around the table of the back room with just about every employee except for the teens, as well as George. “Obviously we can’t fire him, he owns the store, so we can’t really do much on that front. But we could always threaten him with taking it to the police?”

“I mean, I think we should be doing that anyways,” Karl frowned, examining the monster can he was holding. “But it’s all so messy if we do that.”

“Well, we could do what Sap said, just threaten him with it. He wouldn’t want to have to go through with whatever legal shit that entails,” George stated matter-of-factly, a bit of poison behind his words. “And we can set some rules or boundaries. He’s not allowed within a fucking mile of Tommy.”

Nobody was surprised by his reaction, but George’s protectiveness over Tommy had startled everyone at first, since the two were hardly seen interacting, but they’d all just come to accept it. In fact, most of the store heavily related to the need to protect Tommy and the rest of the teens. They were all unintentionally self-destructive idiots, but that was expected. They were in high school after all.

“Well, we can figure out all of that when Dream shows up later. Or we’ll wait until tomorrow when Wilbur gets back. You all know he’ll have something to say,” Ponk frowned, while the rest made noises of sullen agreement.

“I’d be surprised if Techno isn’t already trying to find a way to get away with murder,” Punz chuckled a little bit.

“Aren’t we all?” Eret glanced at Punz over the top of their glasses, an eyebrow raised.

The conversation continued, getting nowhere for the most part besides a few loose rules, when the back door opened, and a fuming Techno entered the room. 

“When is Dream supposed to be here,” Techo phrased it as more of a statement more than anything. The rest of them looked at each other, none really sure.

“He said he’d be here in about…” George glanced down at his phone. “Twenty minutes.”

“Good,” Techno hissed, and his whole being emanated one clear message:  _ Do not fuck with him _ .

________________________________

  
  


“Hey, Tommy?” Tubbo asked quietly, unsure if he should continue as he held onto Tommy’s hand, having switched places with Kristen when he reentered the room with Phil after taking a few minutes to gather himself.

“Yeah, Big T?” Tommy responded quietly, looking at their intertwined hands, continuing to avoid eye contact. It bothered Tubbo and the two adults in the room who had known the boy for long enough to know he didn’t  _ get  _ unsure or quiet like he was being, but they didn’t fault him for it. Someone else had reduced him to the unfamiliar boy before them.

“When you were out in the snow- I mean- why didn’t you call anyone? I know you can’t call your parents but there had to be  _ someone _ ,” Tubbo spoke, and Tommy was about to reply, but Tubbo continued. “I know you thought I hated you, but even if I really had been mad at you, which I wasn’t, you could’ve called me. No matter- no matter what’s going on between us, I’d never let you put yourself in danger like that.”

Tommy stared at his best friend incredulously, his mouth opening and closing as he thought about what to say, but before he could overthink it too much, his mouth was talking without him in control of it.

“I just thought that you guys would be better off without me since I just fuck everything up all the time.”

Tommy regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, and he clamped his free hand over his mouth, finally looking at Tubbo’s face for his reaction. The brunette’s chin was quivering, and he was rapidly blinking, fighting off tears. He let go of Tommy’s hand and Tommy was scared for his reaction for a split second, but then they other boy wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Tommy, I’m- I’m so so  _ so sorry _ for everything I said that night. You’re not immature or a fuck-up, you’re perfect just the way you are and I don’t know how I’d live without you,” Tubbo clung to his best friend, speaking between heartbreaking sobs. Tommy started crying at some point too, while Phil and Kristen went into the hall to give them space. Glancing through the window, Phil and Kristen watched them separate and both speak in whispers, holding hands tighter than before. 

It would take time for things to get better, and they still needed to talk to Tommy about his mindset and everything that went down during his exile, but it was clear the best friends had made up.

________________________________

  
  


Dream had barely stepped into the back room, when Techno was on him, slamming him into the closed door with a hand holding him with the collar of his shirt. “ _ What the fuck did you do _ ,” Techno practically growled, a fiery glint in his eye that dared Dream to give him any more of a reason to beat the living daylights out of him.

Dream coughed, all air having left his lungs after hitting the door. “You’re gonna have to be more specific,  _ Dave _ .”

Unsurprisingly to perhaps everyone, there was a fist colliding with Dream’s face within seconds, and his head snapped to the side, a dull throb in his cheek already making itself known. At least Techno hadn’t gotten him in the nose. Dream knew there’d be a bruise, but it would be an easy enough fix with his mask. A broken nose would be a greater issue, but not one he couldn’t handle, just more inconveniencing than anything.

“I’ll ask again,” Techno said, his voice low and threatening, anger replacing the monotone boredom that was most commonly associated with him. “What the  _ fuck  _ did you do to Tommy?”

Dream knew there was no way he was going to get anything out of being more of a bastard than he’d already been, so he just swallowed roughly, hauntingly aware of the other presences in the break room.

“I didn’t mean for the kid to get hurt, okay? I was pissed about him messing up George’s display, and he needed to face consequences for it. It got out of hand,” Dream grumbled.

“Out of hand, Dream? He could have  _ died _ !” George stepped forward, shouting angrily. “It was a  _ display _ , and Tommy was seriously hurt because  _ you  _ got more upset over it being ruined than I did! Your employees, your  _ friends _ , are worth more than some fucking display!”

“Listen closely,  _ Clay _ ,” Techno seethed, getting just a few inches away from his face. “You are going to let Tommy come back to work when he’s ready, but he’ll be working his normal shift, and you’re not going to go a  _ step _ near him, or I’ll make sure to leave more lasting damage. Got it?”

“You’re crystal clear,” Dream spat back. Techno drove a fist into his gut, before letting him go, leaving him hunched over himself, struggling to catch his breath.

“I’m done here. I’ll see you all on Monday,” Techno spoke with clipped words, then left, shoulder-checking Dream on his way out, however he whispered something to Dream that only he could hear. “And that was for Tubbo.”

The door slammed shut, and Dream stood up straight, looking at the group in the room with him. Only the teens and new hires were missing, so this was clearly a planned gathering. Directly in front of him stood George and Sapnap, who both looked equally pissed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big brother techno shall not be fucked with
> 
> i hope y'all are satisfied with this chapter!! i felt a bit bad for not posting so long, so this chapter is extra long :-) there will be some major comfort/fluff next chapter so look forward to that!
> 
> thank you all very much for every kudos/comment/bookmark, they all mean so much to me!


	8. five teenagers, two naps, and one return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!!! here's chapter 8, sorry i've kept you all waiting, but i hope you enjoy!
> 
> tw for emotional/verbal abuse and sensory overload/meltdown

“You’re his  _ mother _ , I would have hoped you’d have something more than  _ apathy  _ at the fact that your teenaged son is lying in a hospital bed, not to mention  _ you didn’t even know he was gone _ ! For two  _ days _ !” Phil stood in the hallway right outside of Tommy’s room, getting increasingly angry at a blonde figure standing just out of view from the bed, but Tommy was well aware of who it was. He managed to nestle himself closer into Tubbo’s side and watched the two adults silently.

“It’ll be okay, Tommy,” Tubbo gave him a warm smile and grounding squeeze of the hand, but Tommy couldn’t stop the uneasy feeling. Still, he nodded his head and kept his eyes trained on the door.

They stood there for a while, fighting one another. While Phil was primarily the one speaking, he heard his mom raise her voice a few times. The most disturbing interactions between the two were when their voices could barely be heard, but what Tommy and Tubbo did hear was laced with low, angry venom. Tommy could handle the yelling, he was accustomed to it. It was the low, threatening tones that set him on edge. Anything said with that tone was unpredictable, and when he heard it from his parents, it was like an on and off switch. They would be speaking menacingly one moment, but the next word could be harsh yelling. There was no tells and no patterns and no predictability.

Tommy hated that.

As someone who spent as much freetime as he could playing video games with friends, as well as working in a grocery store, it was part of his job to look for trends and patterns. Strategies to make his life easier and more efficient. His parents were an enigma, and it disoriented the young blonde to not have anything to go off of. Just as he was starting to get lost in thought, the door flew open, and Tommy just about disappeared behind his best friend.

“ _ Thomas _ ,” his mother sneered. “I’m very disappointed in you. You’ve skipped out on a day of work, and now you might miss school tomorrow? This is unacceptable. You;re being dramatic as always, just getting people to feel bad for you so that they’ll do what you want and give you attention. If you want to be a grown-up, Thomas, then start behaving like one.”

Tommy stared at his mom, blinking rapidly as tears burned in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He’d been doing far too much crying as of late, and he didn’t want to give his mom the satisfaction of seeing him break down.

“You can’t speak to him like that! You’re supposed to be his mum, and take care of him!” Tubbo sat up a bit taller, his eyes sharp as he glared at Tommy’s mom. “He’s sick and you don’t even care! All you care about is whether or not he’s missing school and work, and so what if he is?! He is a hard-working person, probably the best I know, so you can’t say  _ anything  _ about him not being responsible or mature!”

Tubbo’s hands were balled up in anger, and Tommy felt a rush of joy at his best friend’s words. It was hard to understand why someone would think so highly of Tommy, but hearing the words coming from Tubbo made Tommy’s heart melt.

His mother huffed out of frustration and left the room, not saying another word to the teens or Phil, who entered almost immediately after she stepped out, though he waited long enough for her to get away from the room.

“Hey, bud, are you two alright?” Phil looked between them, the crease in his brow from earlier returning with deeper prominence, but he didn’t have the pinched look on his face that he had been sporting over the past few days when Tommy was lucid enough to understand what was happening,

He didn’t look as  _ tired  _ as he had. Tommy couldn’t stop the guilt gnawing at his stomach when he remembered the reason Phil was tired was because he had been busy helping to nurse a stupid, wreckless, irresponsible teen back to health. One who didn’t deserve all of the help he’d gotten. Who had nothing but waste others’ time and stress them out and look after him.

“We’re alright, Phil. Just a bit shaken is all,” Tubbo assured the older man and leaned back into the bed, letting Tommy readjust to get comfortable nestled up in his side. “I definitely gave her a talking to.”

“I heard every word of it,” Phil said, an easy smile on his lips. “I am so proud. Of both of you. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

“Thank you, Big Man. For saying all that back there, I mean,” Tommy quickly thanked his best friend, the words coming out rushed. “You didn’t have to, I mean-”

“Of course I had to, Tommy,” Tubbo sighed lightly, but sadly, looking at the blonde. “I wasn’t going to let her talk about you like that, you deserve much better.”

With tears burning in his eyes for a completely different reason, Tommy look his hand away from Tubbo and wrapped the brunette in a tight hug, burying his face into Tubbo’s shoulder. The older boy just took it all in stride and put a hand in Tommy’s hair. Tommy wasn’t normally very vulnerable, but when he was, it was usually around Tubbo or Wilbur, and the two knew how much Tommy needed the close contact and gentle touches.

With his best friend next to him, Tommy relaxed and the group sat in comfortable silence.

  
  


________________________________

  
  


“She said  _ what _ ?” Wilbur laughed, disbelieving, but there was something bitter and dark behind it. “He’s their  _ kid _ and neither of them knew? What the fuck, Phil?! He was gone for two days and neither of them managed to notice he was gone? That’s a different kind of fucked up!”

Friend was next to Wilbur, and he pet the lamb, trying to keep his cool. He needed to keep a level-head. Soon, he would be on the plane home to his twin and his pseudo-family  and to kick ass . Running a hand through his hair, Wilbur tried to take a deep breath and focus back in on what Phil was saying.

“I know, Wil,” Phil sighed, and Wilbur swore he could almost hear the older man pinching between his eyebrows like he always did when he was stressed out. “His mom said awful things to him before she left. You should’ve seen his face. He couldn’t say anything, Tubbo had to do the talking for him.”

“Oh how the turntables,” Wilbur muttered, looking at Friend. “What’re you going to do? I mean, I can ask my parents about letting him take the guest room, but I don’t know if my family can really give him the help he needs and-”

“Don’t worry, Wil,” Phil’s tone lightened and Wilbur quirked an eyebrow. “Kristen and I will be taking him in, at least unofficially for now. We might try and apply to become his legal guardians if his parents agree, but we aren’t ready or sure yet.”

Wilbur rolled his eyes a bit at Phil’s big heart. He and Kristen were too good, though he couldn’t complain that two people he cared about that needed help were getting it. “You’re just too good, Phil,” Wilbur smiled and cuddled Friend closer to him.

“Well, I try,” they both laughed at that, when Wilbur heard another voice on Phil’s end, one that Wilbur thought was Kristen, though he wasn’t sure.”I’ve gotta go, but have a safe flight and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Phil. Make sure to give Toms a big hug for me,” Wilbur sighed, stroking Friend’s back.

“You can give him one yourself when you get back, mate,” Phil gently chuckled, before the line went dead, Wilbur assuming that Phil had hung up. It was getting late back home, after all.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Wilbur sighed and wrapped his arms around the sheep. “But there’s someone back at home who needs my help. You remind me of him. But you’re much quieter, and he’s a bit more fun. No offense, of course.”

When Friend bleated, as if in response to what Wilbur said, the brit chuckled and stood up, walking to the door of the barn.

“I’m coming, Tommy.”

________________________________

  
  


Ranboo hummed quickly and quietly as he rocked lightly on the balls of his feet in an attempt to stop the incessant buzzing of his body and brain, trying to stop or at least put off what he knew was happening. He hated days like these. He knew that it was inevitable, his doctor had told him and his parents all those years ago ( _ back when they actually cared _ ) that stress would make sensory overload a more frequent occurrence in his life, and he’d be damned if the past week hadn’t been one of the most stressful times in his short life. Ranboo dragged himself up the stairs, and he wasn’t sure he had ever been more thankful for a bedroom so close to the staircase than in that moment. The dark of his room at Phil’s house helped, but he could still feel every fiber of his clothes touching him.

_ Shirt. Pants. Boxers. Mask. Socks. Shoes. _

_ Shirtpantsboxersmasksocksshoes _

_ All of it was touching him and it was too close _

_ Tooclosetooclosetooclosetooclosetooclosetooclosetooclosetooclose _

He couldn’t take it, it was all too much, he felt everything and it all _burned_ _ - _

Ranboo ripped off his mask, sobs beginning to tear their way from his throat, before his fingers found their way to his unruly, tawny hair that he needed to get cut, and tugged hard, stumbling over to his bed. He dove into the bed desperately, burying his face in the pillows, because even though he could hardly stand the feeling of the bedding on his face, the light coming in from the window, even from behind curtains, was worse, and his sunglasses were long since abandoned. Ranboo kicked off his shoes, then let himself curl his long legs up to his chest right in the middle of his bed, willing himself to just fall asleep so his body would stop dialing his senses up to 20. Maybe the universe was feeling merciful, because soon, Ranboo was fast asleep.

It didn't last long, before he heard a gruff, monotone voice beside him, pulling him out of sleep.

“Ranboo?”

Actually, Ranboo wasn’t sure if it had lasted long.

“Hey, kid?”

It could’ve been minutes, hours. Probably not days.

“Can you respond so I know you’re alive?”

All Ranboo knew was that it wasn’t nearly long enough, if the bone-tired feeling was anything to go by.

“I’m startin’ to get worried here.”

Ranboo blinked slowly, his eyelids feeling like they weighed tons. His room was even darker than it had been before he passed out, so he came to the logical conclusion that he’d been out for at least a few hours, if the sun had already set. Digging the heels of his hands into his eyes, Ranboo sat up slowly. When he looked who was next to him, brown eyes with furrowed brows met Ranboo’s own.

“You all good?” Technoblade was about a foot away from Ranboo’s bed, hands fidgeting with his long, pink braid. Ranboo considered the question for a moment, before shrugging, but when he saw Techno’s unimpressed look, he shook his head.

“Overload?”

A nod,  _ yeah _ .

“Alright, do you want me to get Phil?”

A shake of the head,  _ no _ .

“Are you hungry?” 

Another no.

“Do you want water?”

_ Probably a good idea _ , Ranboo thought, before nodding.

“Okay, should I bring it up here, or do you think you’re okay to go downstairs?”

Ranboo pointed to the door, and Techno couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. He’d seen Ranboo during a meltdown before, so he knew how much it took out of the tall teenager, and while he wouldn’t have protested to Ranboo taking whatever amount of time he needed to rest and collect himself, he was proud to see him pushing himself (t _ o a reasonable extent _ ). However, when Ranboo didn’t move from his spot on the edge of the bed for several moments, staring through the floor in front of him, Techno frowned slightly.

“Ranboo, do you actually want to go downstairs? We can stay up here, it’s no biggie,” Techno shrugged a bit awkwardly. Ranboo nodded his head, aware of his surrounding again. He pushed himself to his feet with the help of his mattress, before putting a hand on Techno’s shoulder to steady himself for a moment.  With that, they went downstairs. Ranboo noticed that most of the lights were off or dimmed as they made their way through the house to the kitchen. When they walked into the kitchen, Ranboo startled slightly when he noticed Tommy at the table, sitting between a worn looking Phil and an anxious Tubbo. Techno motioned for Ranboo to sit down, grabbing the boy a glass of water.

“Hello, mate,” Phil greeted Ranboo with a warm smile, but his eyes looked tired, appearing almost sunken in with how dark they were. Ranboo remembered when Phil and Kristen had first taken him back home, when he'd been sick, the long nights Phil spent awake while Ranboo was feverish and inconsolable. Phil hadn’t looked too different from how he looked then, the only difference was that this time, he was sitting with three teens in a dimly lit kitchen.

Ranboo waved and pointed to his mouth, then shook his head again. He hoped he accurately communicated that it wasn’t that he  _ wouldn’t  _ talk, he physically  _ couldn’t.  _ Phil just nodded, rubbing the hand that he had on Tommy’s back up and down. The two younger teens had yet to acknowledge Ranboo, besides Tubbo shooting him a quick glance when he’d first walked into the kitchen.  Tommy was half asleep, leaning with his head on Tubbo’s shoulder. While he looked better than he had the last time Ranboo saw him, he looked how Ranboo felt- completely and utterly exhausted. Techno handed Ranboo the glass of water and sat down in the empty chair between him and Phil. 

He looked at the last empty chair and frowned. It felt incomplete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry again for the wait!! this one isn't as long, but i can't wait to give y'all the next chapter, where wilbur will be coming back, and you'll be getting some highly requested dteam perspective!
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


	9. multiple characters get naps, dream's voicemail is full, and readers really start to understand how much the author loves the hurt/comfort tag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i grinded. i love the grind. i hope y'all like this chapter, i'm genuinely super proud of it, and we finally get WILBY!!
> 
> i'm fairly certain there aren't any tw/cw for this chapter, but please let me know if you think i should add anything!
> 
> enjoy :-)

To say that Techno was less than happy to go back to work was an understatement. He resented the idea of him and Phil both being away from Tommy right after he was discharged. Kristen had assured them she was completely capable, feigning offense at the implications that she couldn’t. Of course Techno believed Kristen, and he trusted her with his own life, as well as Tommy’s, but the kid had been rough. Techno had stressed to Kristen the importance of his meal plan and making sure he drank water, which she listened to without stopping him. She knew it would help Techno to just get everything out, since he rarely did so, so she didn’t make a move to interrupt, only acknowledging when she deemed appropriate.

_ “I promise, I’ll make sure to follow the meal plan. Thanks for going over it,”  _ Kristen reassured Techno before him and Phil had to go that morning after Techno finished.  _ “You guys are only gonna be gone for one meal, but I’ll text you if anything changes, okay?” _

And now, Techno found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Phil’s car, glaring out the windshield as they sat in the parking lot of the grocery store. The snow that fell and covered the parking lot was taunting him.

_ How long had Tommy sat out there? Why? _

There were so many questions and still too few answers, but Phil, Techno, and Kristen had all agreed to wait to try and pry anything from him, opting to let him choose what he wanted to tell them about.

_ Maybe he’ll talk to Wilbur,  _ Techno thought of his twin and huffed out of his nose, before unbuckling.

“You ready to go in, mate?” Phil chuckled a bit, and Techno rolled his eyes.

“I just want to get through these next few hours so we can get back to Tommy. Not to mention Wilbur’s flight is landing at about the same time we get off work,” the pinkette grumbled, getting out of the car.

“I think Kristen was planning on taking Tommy, and the two were going to pick Wil up,” Phil shrugged as they walked towards the back entrance. “We thought getting Tommy out for a bit would be nice. He’s been hanging around all the same places, doing the same thing, and we think it’ll cheer him up.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Techno sighed as they walked through the door, and the conversation that had been happening before Techno opened the door stopped instantly. The people occupying the room were none other than Karl, George, Sapnap, and Quackity.

Phil couldn’t stop the small laugh when he saw the group in the back room. “I didn’t know break time for half the staff was at eight in the morning on a Saturday.”

“Good thing it’s not half the staff then,” George hummed with an acidic undertone, messing around on his phone, typing away furiously. Techno didn’t have to try and guess who it was that the manager was texting.

“Wanna elaborate on that?” Techno raised an eyebrow, looking at the other young men in the room.

“Purpled, Jack, and Skeppy are training some newbies,” Sapnap shrugged, draping himself against Quackity obnoxiously. “Odd group to work together, I know, but they need some training hours.”

“ _ Te amo, cabrón,  _ but get off me this instant,” Quackity shoved Sapnap off of him.

“Karl~” Sapnap whined, drawing out the “l” in his name.”Quackity is being mean.”

“That sounds like a you problem,” Karl’s voice and face were impassive as he sat on the other side of the table, across from George, nursing a monster as he scrolled his own phone.

“Thank you,  _ habibi, _ ” Quackity smirked.

Techno raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to ignore... whatever the hell that was,” he turned and looked to George, who looked increasingly frustrated as he typed on his phone “George, what’s happening?”

“Dream told me to hire some new employees because of how sporadically some of us have been showing up to work,” George slammed his phone down on the table. “Now, on top of him being picky about some people he  _ told  _ me to bring in, he’s angry because somehow, surprise surprise, human resources got wind of at least the bare minimum of everything that’s gone down here, and now one of them is coming to the store.”

“Oh, really?” Phil looked genuinely a bit shocked. “Who from HR is coming? I know some of the folks in that department.”

“Cara- I think she has the nickname... Puffy?” George rubbed his eyes, and Phil couldn’t help but feel bad for the young manager. He’d been running the store practically on his own since Dream stopped showing up. He was the only other person who had any sort of idea how to do most of the more important, “behind the scenes” jobs.

“Hm, her name sounds familiar, but I don’t know her personally,” the oldest man in the room gave George a small smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re doing a great job, you know.”

George sighed exasperatedly, putting his goggles on and standing up. “Thanks, Phil. I’m gonna go check on how the training is going. I’ll see you around the store.”

________________________________

  
  


Wilbur hated airports. He hated airports and airplanes. The idea of sitting in a glorified sardine tin, knee-to-knee with family and strangers made him nauseous. Who  _ knows  _ what someone could contract while flying? For all he knew, Wilbur had already contracted some life-threatening disease. It was because of these concerns that one could probably imagine his discomfort at the prospect of flying more than a couple hours, not just once, but a roundtrip. Luckily, Wilbur was something of a genius, and he brought melatonin to force himself to sleep as much as possible. His urge to be productive at every moment of the day and just  _ not sleep  _ was overridden by the disgust he felt and fear of getting infected with  _ something,  _ and he wasn’t going to force himself to stay awake pondering those thoughts just a bit too deeply.

Despite sharing insomniac tendencies, among other things, with his twin, Wilbur had gotten a good amount of rest on his flight. The moment he stepped off the plane, he took in a deep breath, before making his way to luggage with long strides, disregarding his mother and father slightly. He felt his phone begin to ping endlessly with everything he’d missed in the far too many hours he’d been on the plane. The first thing Wilbur checked as he waited for him and his parents’ bags was his messages.

**[dadza at 1:19 am]** Have a safe flight! I think that Kristen and Tommy want to come pick you up, Kristen said she’s willing to call a cab for your folks, since she doesn’t have quite a big enough car for you all and your luggage  😅

Wilbur rolled his eyes at Phil’s message, breathing sharply out through his nose at the use of the emoji unironically.

**[me at 11:43 am]** we just landed. my parents will probably be fine w it let me go talk to them and text mumza

**[dadza at 11:44 am]** Glad to hear you had a good flight! Definitely go text with Kristen or Tommy, they should be there/very close. I’ve got to get back to work, but I should be home by the time you get back 😊

Wilbur sighed exasperatedly, then looked back at the luggage check, noticing that he’d turned at the right time, otherwise he would’ve missed his luggage, his parents’ suitcases not far behind. He grabbed their suitcases and handed them over as they finally caught up.

“Phil and his wife are looking after Tommy, since he just got out of the hospital like I told you, and apparently his wife is on her way with Tommy,” Wilbur explained to them, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “Is it okay if I go with them? They even offered to buy you a cab and-”

“It’s fine, Wilbur, go ahead,” his father patted his shoulder, and his mom nodded in agreement. “We’ll get an Uber. We know how worried you’ve been about that kid.”

His mom snickered while Wilbur’s cheeks went red. “Of course I’ve been worried about him! Kid was in the hospital, I can’t believe you lot…”   
  


Wilbur muttered, feigning annoyance at his parents as they went to a better spot to wait. Opening his phone once more, he went to his most recent messages and opened the ones from Kristen, eyes drifting to the last text she’d sent.

**[mumza at 11:26 am]** hello, love! tommy and i are in a bit of traffic right now, but we should be there in 20-30 minutes :)

**[me at 11:47 am]** hi thanks kristen! im ready when u are just text me and i can find u in the drop off/pick up zone or i’ll hunt u down in the parking lot

**[mumza at 11:47 am]** perfect timing! i’ve parked as close to the entrance as i could, but i’ll send our location

**[mumza is sharing location for the next 24 hours]**

Wilbur sucked in a breath and looked at his parents. “Kristen and Tommy are here. I’ll see you both later, thank you so much!” He pulled his parents in for a hug, before grabbing his suitcase and walking toward the exit.

When he stepped outside of the airport, he took a deep breath, glad to be out of the crowded building. He scanned the parking lot, before glancing down at his phone and following the ping, until he saw a familiar compact car, the bumper and back windshield covered in dozens of nerdy stickers and vinyl cut outs. Knocking on the back windshield, Wilbur grinned wide and peeked into the car.

His smile faltered when he saw Tommy, asleep in the backseat with his head against the window. He looked  _ bad _ and from what Wilbur understood, he’d somehow been  _ worse _ before. Hearing how bad it was from Tubbo, Techno and Phil alike was one thing, but seeing his little brother in person looking so deteriorated was a completely different one. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Wilbur noticed Kristen had opened the trunk, so he put in his things, before slipping into the passenger seat.

“Hi, Wil,” Kristen greeted gently, smiling at the brunette, who’d immediately turned around to look at Tommy in the backseat. “You can sit in the back with him if you’d like, I won’t be offended.”

“Thank you. For everything, I mean,” Wilbur spoke gratefully, before he got out of the car, getting into the opposite side of the backseat. “How long has he been out?”

“He tried to stay awake for the drive, he wanted to see you right when you got here, but then he fell asleep an hour into the drive, and I couldn’t find it in me to wake him up,” Kristen sighed as they sat in the parked car. “The doctor said he needs sleep to fully get better, so I’m just following doctor’s orders. But you can wake him up now.”

Nodding, Wilbur reached out and put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, lightly jostling him in attempt to wake him up. Tommy flinched hard and hit his head on the back of his seat, and Wilbur and Kristen both winced. 

Tommy rubbed the back of his head. “Oi, what the fuck-” when he saw Wilbur sitting next to him, Tommy’s whole face lit up. He practically ripped off his seatbelt and dove into Wilbur’s arms,

“Hey, Toms,” Wilbur whispered, holding Tommy close while rubbing his back, slightly horrified when he felt Tommy’s spine through an entire shirt and sweater. 

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Wilbur sighed, just taking in his little brother’s presence. “You’re safe now, I’ve got you. I won’t let anything else happen to you.”

They stayed in the embrace for a while, before Tommy removed himself from the hug. Instead of moving back over to the seat opposite of Wilbur, he stayed in the middle seat right beside Wilbur, pressed into his pseudo-brother’s side.

“Do you both have seatbelts?” Kristen looked back at the two boys, and after she got confirmation, the three were on their way home.

________________________________

  
  


George was fuming, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry or punch someone as he paced around the empty break room. He was overwhelmed. He needed help. He needed  _ Dream  _ to actually  _ run his fucking store,  _ not just text George like a prick and tell him to bring in a handful of new hires to make up for the shortage they’d had of workers. The shortage that was his  _ own damn fault!  _ And now the bastard didn’t have the deceny to return George’s calls. Of course he didn’t, why would George expect anything from Dream after everything that had happened over the past week.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the tenth time he tried to call Dream ( _ tenth… that day. George had been calling him nonstop since Techno had grilled then decked him. Dream had left so quickly, and part of George was still worried. Still cared _ ). The man on the other side of the phone answered the call, but the second George was about to start talking, start  _ demanding  _ how the  _ fuck _ Dream do this to him, the line went dead.

The pressure had been building up like water blocked by a dam right behind his eyes exploded, and George sobbed out of frustration and anger and grief as he fumbled with his phone, dialing Dream’s number again. The line rang all the way through until the voicemail message played, and George couldn’t help but lose it.

“How fucking  _ DARE  _ you?! I-I’ve been doing  _ your  _ fucking job for the past few days, and-and- I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to do, but  _ I can’t keep doing this anymore!  _ God, Dream, I’m so fucking  _ tired  _ and maybe I’m stupid for thinking you care about anything other than your stupid store, but you clearly don’t even care that much about it, since you left the whole fucking thing for me to run! You know what?  _ Maybe I’m stupid for thinking you ever cared about ME!”  _ George screamed into his phone, sinking to the floor, but he continued, softer. “I just- I just want my best friend back, Dream, please.”

The beep that signaled the end of the voicemail was lost over the sound of the breakroom door opening. George didn’t look up to see who it was, he just slipped his phone into his hoodie pocket and got to his feet, steadying himself on the wall, but two arms were pulling him into a hug the moment he was on his feet. He didn’t feel the bubbling anger anymore, it had all been used up. George was just tired. He leaned deeper into the hug, and in return he was hugged even closer.

“I’m sorry, George.”

“You’re not the one who did it, Sappitus Nappitus,” George murmured.

“I know, but I’m still sorry you’ve gotta deal with that,” Sapnap sighed. “You don’t have to do this all alone, you know. I’m here too, and if you asked anyone else, you know they’d help how they could without hesitation. Well, except maybe-”

“-Purpled,” they said in unison, both shaking from light laughter as they pulled away from the hug.

“Let’s get you home. I can come back and deal with some of the big stuff with Karl and Big Q, we won’t let you down,” Sapnap smiled at the shorter brunette and ruffled his hair.

“Don’t mess with my hair, you massive prick,” George snapped, but there was no venom behind it as he got on his coat and gathered his things. Before long, he was on his way home in a car with his friend, radio playing quietly in the background.

________________________________

  
  


Phil Watson was asleep on the couch in his house he shared with his wife. Somehow, over the course of a few weeks, Phil Watson shared the house with not just his wife, but also: an unintentionally self-destructive fifteen-year-old who had more energy in his right foot than Phil had in his whole body and was too loyal for his own good, a reserved but kind sixteen-year-old with a guilt complex like Phil couldn’t believe, and a nineteen-year-old who was already his age twice-over that had a heart too big for his chest, so he chose to shut it away.

Said nineteen-year-old was sitting in an armchair adjacent to Phil, watching him out of the corner of his eye while he reread his favorite book for the hundredth time. Techno had noticed Phil starting to fall asleep while they caught up on a Netflix show together after work, waiting for Kristen, Tommy, and Wilbur to get back. Techno noted as the yawns got more frequent, before Phil was sinking back into the cushions, fast asleep. Techno had layed a blanket on top of him before he got settled with his book, and he’d been looking over at the man every few minutes since. Sue him for caring.

It had been an hour or so, when the sound of the front door alerted Techno to the fact that the long-awaited return of his brother was finally happening. Phil woke to the sound of the door, and he was soon up and moving towards the door with Techno. Tommy, Wilbur, and Kristen were standing in the entryway, Tommy talking about  _ something  _ with Wilbur. The blonde seemed to have perked up tremendously since Techno and Phil saw him.

“Hiya, Wil, how was the flight?” Phil walked up to the three and pulled Wilbur into a hug, big smiles on both of their faces.

“It was okay. I managed to sleep almost the entire time,” Wilbur chuckled, setting down his bag so he could properly hug Phil back. “So, you know, manageable.”

The two pulled out of the hug, and Techno just nodded in greeting, which made Wilbur snort, so he decided to get a little sarcastic. “Woah, Techno, you didn’t have to go so far with the welcoming committee, I was only away from  _ you  _ for a few days. Tommy, d’yknow what I reckon?”

“What do ya reckon, Big Dubs?” Tommy and Wilbur made eye contact, and the older noticed how Tommy’s eyes glinted with a spark, the beginning of a mischievous grin worming its way onto his lips.

“I reckon he’s... clingy,” Wilbur stage-whispered to Tommy, who gasped and turned to face Techno the same moment Wilbur did. “Let’s hunt him for sport.”

With no further warning, Wilbur lunged at Techno, who began to run up the stairs. In hot pursuit, the three teens pounded up the stairs, and Phil groaned. “Absolute hooligans… BOYS! Don’t wake Ranboo!”   
  


They did, in fact, wake up Ranboo, who walked downstairs cautiously after the three had practically tumbled back down the stairs minutes later. “Are they..?”

“Just some rough-housing,” Kristen giggled as Ranboo walked over to her, and she put an arm around his waist, too short to give him a proper side-hug. “Did you sleep alright, hon?”

“Yeah, I’m just surprised I slept so long,” Ranboo shrugged, eyes drawn to where the other teens were still trying to throttle one each other. “And surprised you let me.”

  
“It was a long day for all of us- TECHNO AND WIL!” Phil’s attention snapped to the boys wrecking  their his living room, where the twins were practically piling on top of the youngest. “He's hardly just got out of the  _ hospital,  _ you two have got to take it easy!”

“I’m a Big- I’m a MASSIVE Big Man, Phil, these pussies are no match for Big Man Innit,” Tommy argued back between deep breaths. “I’m not weak like them, we should go again! In fact-”

“Tommy, none of us are doubting that you’re the biggest man child of us all-” Techno started, and he was briefly interrupted by an offended protest from Tommy, but he continued. “-but you’re still recovering from being really sick. It wouldn’t be fun to beat you when I know I’m not getting the  _ full  _ Tommy Innit experience. So let’s just cut it out for now.”

Tommy tensed slightly, but smirked. “You’re just afraid you’ll lose. And that’s understandable, because you will,” Tommy nodded to himself. Techno, Wil, and Phil didn’t miss the way he took a split-second to glance up at the others, almost as if he were gaging their reactions to him being... himself.

Another thing to talk about later.

In that moment, they decided to just make their way to the kitchen for lunch, which they would proceed to argue over for an amount of time none of them had been bothered to keep track of, the whole kitchen filled with laughter and warmth despite the chilling weather outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, phil knows exactly what he's fucking doing. in fact, he only uses emojis when he knows wilbur will see.
> 
> i sprinkled in a little george angst for personal reasons (i wanted to)
> 
> you can read this as dnf and karlnapity, but i am not writing either as romantic, just as a bromance/platonic :-)
> 
> i can't wait for puffy, sam, and some other members to start being incorporated here very soon!
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


	10. an interlude of sorts, where hugs are given, and someone is at risk of carpal tunnel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, its me, im at risk of carpal tunnel (no, it's puffy, but i am only half joking)
> 
> holy cow you guys, i am SO SORRY it's been two whole weeks, but i wanted this chapter to be good! thank you so much for your patience, i hope you guys enjoy this super long chapter :-]
> 
> possible TW for referenced (talk of) emotional/verbal abuse, gaslighting, and manipulation

Captain Doctor Cara “Puffy” furrowed her brows as she sat on the phone with a friend of hers, curled up on her couch on the cold Saturday evening _(She knew the title was convoluted and unnecessary, but she didn’t spend so much time in the Navy, then going back to school to become a therapist to not use every official title she could)._

“Puffy, you know I wouldn’t just ask you to do this normally, but I’m at a bit of a loss here. According to George he just… stopped showing up, and he won’t respond to anyone but George, and that’s only to talk to things store related,” the man on the other end of the phone sounded uncharacteristically exasperated. “I tried to help George solve this on the down low, just keep it at home, but he’s just ignoring the problem, and you’re the only one we think he’ll listen to.”

“Sam, you know things are… less than savory between us,” Puffy bit her lip. “But you have a point. I’m going to find a way to talk to him when I conduct the interviews. I can’t believe he’d do this, and to a kid no less.”

“Yeah, I mean, George gave bare minimum information, but the fact that Tommy was hospitalized because of whatever happened… it doesn’t sound good,” Sam sighed. “I don’t know. But keep me in the know.”

“Of course, Sam. I’ll stay in touch,” Puffy ended the call and slipped her phone into her pocket. It was going to be a long week in the office.

________________________________

  
  


When Puffy had been discharged from the Navy after rising through the ranks so very young to pursue her education, she knew two things. One, she would miss it, and two, she was ready to go back to school to become a therapist. A few things influenced this decision; the title of Captain Doctor was hilarious, she was able to help people even after the Navy, and her adopted son. Dream. Well, Clay, but he’d insisted on the nickname when Puffy had first adopted him years prior, wanting nothing to do with his given name. The sixteen year old had insisted that Cara get a nickname to match. So when the teen saw her in a fuzzy, rainbow sheep onesie on their first movie night together, after relentless teasing, he’d given her an appropriate nickname: Puffy.

Puffy knew she’d taken in Dream when she was far too young. There was such a small age gap, and she was still working her way through the Navy as one of the youngest Captains in recorded history. He was a wayward kid who needed _someone_ in his corner. And Puffy tried. She tried, but she couldn’t always be there, and it showed. Their relationship was strained. She loved him like he was family, he accused her of not being there. He had a point.

_“You’re never here! Why did you even bother adopting me if you clearly can’t give me the time of day!”_ Dream had shouted at her after she’d grounded him for being out until four in the morning and came back high. _“You didn’t give a shit before, why bother now?!”_

The words had stung, and Puffy didn’t know what to say, or how to help. She swore she’d never be at a loss of words to help people she cared about again. So, when Puffy was finally able to leave the Navy and go back to school, she’d been overjoyed at the prospect of spending more time with Dream.

But she was too late.

He’d moved on and moved out. Dream was off to college as a business major, a focus on marketing and advertising, and that had been as much as he’d told her when she’d convinced him to go with her to lunch. Puffy felt better after they caught up, because she knew Dream was safe. He lived in the college dorms until he could afford his own apartment. His dorm was shared with two boys named Nick and George, who she discovered had quickly become Dream’s best friends. At least Puffy’s service benefited him in the form of the veteran’s grant, so she could do that for him, not make him worry about tuition, among other things. She sent him money weekly for groceries or anything he so chose. She wasn’t sure if he used it, but she sent it like clockwork.

Puffy shook her head as she reminisced on her and Dream’s complicated relationship. It had been nearly five years since she first met him, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty for every second she hadn’t been helping him like she told herself she would since then. But she couldn’t change the past, so she’d have to face the problems of her present. And her biggest problem was that her duckling had hurt others.

If nothing else, Puffy had taught Dream that hurting another person unfairly was never right.

It seemed like the time for a _family reunion._

________________________________

  
  


Puffy stepped through the doors of the grocery store with a bag slung over her shoulder and a determined look on her face. She took a quick glance around just from the entrance, and couldn’t stop herself from deeply sighing (she’d been doing a lot of that lately). Dream had accomplished something wonderful ( _but at what cost?)_ and Puffy had missed so much of it. A flash of bright green caught Puffy’s eye, recognizing the uniform of the grocery store from what Dream posted on social media.

The wearer of said uniform was a brunette girl, who looked slightly lost, sage green eyes scanning the store for someone or something. Puffy noted the impressive rose sleeve tattoo on her arm, and was about to walk up to her, but a boy with sandy blonde hair and purple hoodie tied around his waist beat her to it.

However, Puffy needed to talk to an employee and find George or Sapnap, so she approached the pair. “Hello! I’m assuming you two work here?” Two nods. “I was wondering where I could find George or Nick?”

“Nick?” the boy raised an eyebrow, but then it clicked. “Oh, you meant Sapnap. Yeah, they’re probably in the backroom. My name’s Purpled, and this is Hannah. I can get them, but uh, why d’ya need them?”

“My name’s Cara, but everyone calls me Puffy. I’m a therapist from human resources, and I actually came here to conduct a few interviews about what’s been happening around here,” Puffy smiled kindly, but the teen cringed, while the girl titled her head.

“Right. Yeah,” the boy muttered, and the knot in her stomach that had been beginning to form since Puffy woke up was making itself known. “It’s probably better if I just take you back to them.”

“Whatever works best,” she assured him. “No need to stress it.”

Purpled, Hannah, and Puffy walked to the back of the store, weaving through aisles and customers alike in silence, besides the chatter coming from around them. It was going to be a long, _long_ Sunday afternoon.

Inside the aforementioned breakroom, George was completing paperwork with a creased brown, his head half a foot away from meeting the table. His eyes were half-lidded and red-rimmed, and _oh_ if Puffy’s heart didn’t constrict at the sight. He glanced up at the sound of the door, and rubbed his eyes as realization hit. George stood from the table and walked over to Puffy, wrapping her in a hug. Despite her rocky relationship with Dream, she’d spent enough time with him and his friends to grow close to them as well, and she was never more thankful for that than when she felt George just _clutched_ onto her as they embraced.

“Hey, darling, how’ve you been?” Puffy asked gently.

“Definitely could be better,” George chuckled, but it was hollow. “Thanks for coming. Sam told me you would, but… I don’t know, I just wasn’t sure.”

“Of course I would,” she ruffled his hair before he pulled out of the hug. “Well then, where do you want me to set up?”

________________________________

  
  


Puffy finished arranging her things, making sure to put the fidget toys closest to the other end of the table, where she also put her mini rubber duck collection. Grinning slightly at the makeshift office setup she’d managed, Puffy glanced to the other table across the room, where George had his head in his arms, and he was fast asleep. As Puffy stood to go wake up the manager, the back door of the breakroom opened, and in walked a rather _peculiar_ group.

“I’m just saying, logistically-” a tall blonde teen began, but was promptly cut off.

“Tommy, you are insinuating that hot pockets are both a kind of burrito _and_ ravioli, there’s no logic in your claims at all,” another boy, with long pink hair in a braid deadpanned at Tommy.

“It uh- it says here that raviolis are classified as small pasta envelopes-” another boy, who Puffy noticed towered taller than the entire group of already tall boys, spoke up as he read from his phone.

“Pasta and that bread shit are practically the same thing! Don’t be a prick and back Techno. He’s a wanker, Ranboo,” Tommy patted Ranboo on the back, and a brunette and older blonde laughed behind the other three.

“Sure, pasta and bread are definitely the same thing, Toms,” the oldest of the group chuckled.

“Don’t encourage him, Phil,” the brunette rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, Wilbur! You and Techno are twins, so that makes _you_ a wanker too, by default,” Tommy stuck out his tongue at Wilbur.

It seemed that none of them noticed Puffy at first, until Phil did, and immediately shut the younger ones up. “Oh, very sorry about that! You must be Puffy, from HR?” Phil stuck out a hand, which Puffy shook with a grin.

“That’s me!” She laughed brightly, then looked at the group, before gesturing to her makeshift desk. “I’m here to conduct interviews because of what happened last week.”

The shift in atmosphere was unsettling, and Tommy looked down at his shoes as if they’d personally offended him, while Ranboo shifted nervously, and Techno put an arm around Tommy’s shoulders. She could’ve sworn she heard a pin drop from how quiet it was, but that didn’t last long, because George woke up from the commotion.

“Oh, hey, you guys are here,” he gave them a tired smile, and got to his feet, then pulled Tommy into a hug. “How’re you, Tommy?”

“I’m fine, Gogy, but uh, you kinda look like shit,” Tommy teased. “It’s okay though, everyone does compared to the great Tommy Innit!”

Puffy noted that they both looked… _rough_ for lack of a better term, but they just laughed it off. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Big Man,” George smiled. “Anyways, this is Doctor Puffy, she’s just going to talk to some of the employees, Sapnap, and I.”

“Well, let’s get started.”

________________________________

  
  


The breakroom was completely empty, save for Puffy and the boy she first met when she entered the store, _Purpled_ she reminded herself. He seemed almost bored, but she could see underneath his “couldn’t care less” facade. He seemed tense.

“Alright, we’re just going to start with some basic questions. If at any point you want to stop and take a break, just let me know, and everything in this room stays between you and I unless I think it could hurt you or others,” Puffy assured the teen, and he nodded. “Okay, let’s start with a simple one, how are you?”

“I’m okay,” Purpled shrugged.

“That’s good, now, how long have you been working here?” Puffy smiled.

“About… six months?” Purpled thought about that question, furrowing his brow. At least he was putting in the effort.

“How’s your time been here?”

“It’s been good. I mean, as good as customer service can be, but I need the money,” he hummed, looking at the toys sitting on Puffy’s desk. He carefully considered for a moment, before grabbing one of the stress balls, looking at his hands as he messed with it.

“And you’ve been treated well in your time working here?” Puffy grinned encouragingly when the teen had looked embarrassed about grabbing the toy in the first place.

“Yeah, and I’ve made a lot of good friends,” Purpled shrugged. “My only gripe is with the customers sometimes.”

Puffy wrote a few things in her notebook, nodding, before she looked back up to him. “Now, I’m sure you know about, or have at least heard about what happened here last week?”

“I mean, Tommy’s one of my best friends, I hope I had some idea of what was going on,” he rolled his eyes a bit sarcastically, though Puffy knew he didn’t mean to be rude towards her.

“Okay, then why don’t you tell me your side of the story?”

Purpled started from the beginning. He explained that Tubbo, a worker in the bakery and Tommy’s best friend, had been placed in charge by Sapnap and George while they went to a training, accompanied by Dream. Tubbo was in charge of making sure everything ran smoothly, and that included making sure that a shipment for a Christmas display George was making arrived on time and got into the store okay. He hadn’t been working at the time, but Ranboo told Purpled that he and Tommy had decided to have a race to unload the boxes, and Ranboo had tripped, crushing one of them. He was newest to the store though, and Tommy didn’t want to risk him getting fired, so he took the fall without hesitation, despite Ranboo telling him not to. But then Dream gave Tubbo an ultimatum; get the teens and a few others fired, or have Tommy work the closing shift alone for a week. Tubbo had chosen the latter.

“And, you know, Tommy’s a good person, he was looking out for Ranboo. I can’t say I wouldn’t have just saved my own skin,” Purpled had moved on from the stress ball, and on to another one of Puffy’s toys. “But Tommy’s just… he’s better than most of us.”

“Well, you’re not the only one who would’ve looked out for yourself in a similar situation,” Puffy comforted him as she wrote. “So what happened after that?”

“So uh- I mean, he did the closing shift on his own the next night, but he called me that night at one in the morning, and he sounded like he was having a full-on panic attack,” Purpled frowned, and Puffy swore she saw him tear up out of the corner of her eye as she kept taking notes. “But after that night, he just- he just stopped texting or calling any of us, and he started avoiding us at school, and whenever we saw him, he looked _awful._ He constantly looked dead on his feet.”

“Alright, did you try talking to him about what you noticed?” Puffy gently pushed, and Purpled shook his head.

“Dream told us Tommy said he hated all of us because Tubbo chose to have him work the closing shift by himself, and I mean, it was hard to question it, since he was avoiding us at school and not responding to any of our texts,” Purpled rubbed at his eyes, and Puffy’s heart hurt for him.

“I think we’re done here, sweetheart. You did an amazing job,” Puffy stood and went to Purpled’s side of the desk, her arms open with the offer of a hug. He took her up on it wordlessly, hugging her tight.

________________________________

  
  


Puffy had mixed feelings about how her interview with Purpled had gone. He’d given her a lot of insight in the first interview alone, which she was thankful for, but he seemed so distraught over the ordeal. Puffy couldn’t imagine what it’d be like as she got further into the interviews. She’d decided to go through the teens first. That seemed like a viable plan, and then she could decide where to go from there.

A timid knock on the other side of the door alerted Puffy to her next interviewee. “Come in!” Puffy called in response, and the door opened. “Ranboo, right?”

“Yep, that’s me,” he avoided eye contact, but gave a small grin and walked towards Puffy’s table, taking a seat.

Puffy went through the basics with him as well. How long he’d worked there ( _just a couple of weeks, probably about a month_ ), what it had been like working at the store ( _really great, in fact, he’d met his first real friends there_ ), and how he’d been treated ( _everyone had instantly welcomed him, in all of his tall, jittery glory_ ). Ranboo froze, however, when they got to the topic of what had gone down that fateful day, and those that followed.

“Just take your time, and let me know if you need a break, okay? And keep in mind, everything said in this room will stay between the two of us, unless I believe you’re a threat to yourself or others,” Puffy gave her mini spiel, and they began.

It took considerably longer to get through Ranboo’s side of things, but Puffy would never fault him for it. In the beginning, he gave essentially the exact same story, but from his point of view, and it seemed he didn’t know about the phone call between Purpled and Tommy, because he didn’t mention it. However, he did talk about the fact that he had gone to visit Tommy the first night, but Dream insisted he go. Despite Ranboo’s best efforts to say hi and keep in touch with Tommy during the school day, he was ignored time after time. When Dream told the other three teens that Tommy hated the rest of the store because of the punishment they’d left him to, Ranboo had given up trying, because it was believable, at least to Ranboo, who hardly really knew any of them.

“I just can’t help but think that most of this is my fault,” Ranboo admitted, raising a shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “I mean, I _told_ him that I would visit him every night, and there wasn’t any _real_ reason for me not to, I just- I just listened to Dream, but now everything’s gone wrong.”

“Sweetheart, there’s no way you could’ve visited every night. Your shifts are hours, and from what I understand, it was until close to midnight,” Puffy assured him, and was about to say more, but Ranboo started speaking.

“It was past midnight,” Ranboo sucked in a breath and looked at her, while Puffy gave him a quizzical look, and he took it as a sign to continue, moving his gaze to the rubberducks on the table. “He was there from ten to midnight, and then he had to ride the bus home. It’s not really my place to get into details, but uh- well, Tommy doesn’t have the nicest parents… they don’t abuse him! Not physically, but they’re really mean and don’t notice when he’s gone, they only notice if he’s not doing things up to their standards.”

“Okay… how about you sweetheart? You said you would visit every night, and I don’t mean to assume anything, but I can’t imagine your own parents would let you be out so late,” Puffy gave him a sympathetic smile, and Ranboo nodded.

“Mine are uh- they’re usually out for business trips, and I won’t see them for weeks at a time, some-sometimes uh, it’s more like a month? And even then, when I do see them, it’s for a day or two before they disappear again” Ranboo chuckled wetly, and Puffy frowned, but he kept going. “I-I mean, it’s fine, you know? Phil, the head of the deli, he and his wife Kristen are really nice, and they even let me stay at their house, I’ve got my own room there. But-but it still sucks I guess. That my own parents feel the need to put- to put cities, states, _countries_ between us.”

Tears were streaming down both of his cheeks at that point, and Puffy took it as her cue to get up. “Honey, is it alright if I hug you?” She asked gently, and he nodded, so she went in for the hug while he stayed sitting. “Thank you so much for telling me all of that, you were a great help. I promise, none of this is your fault.”

________________________________

  
  


Tubbo seemed surprisingly not too distraught when it came his time to talk. At least in the start of it. He went through all of the questions ( _almost nine months working, always treated well)_ , then told her the start of the story from his point of view ( _he was put in charge, but after Tommy had messed with the shipment, Tubbo unaware of Ranboo’s involvement, he was given an ultimatum. One week of closing shifts was far less severe than losing the job they loved and being the reason others got fired)._

“It seemed like the obvious choice, you know?” Tubbo messed with one of the smaller toys, but kept polite eye contact with Puffy. “He’s my best friend, and I thought you know, if anyone would understand why, it’s Tommy. I thought he purposefully ruined the display on my big day in charge, since he pulls a lot of pranks. I thought he’d pulled a prank that went too far, I didn’t listen when he said it was an accident, but everything that happened… already happened.”

“You seem pretty calm about this all,” Puffy observed. “Not that that’s a bad thing, by any means, it’s good, i’m just surprised Considering how close you two are.”

“We already talked it all out and forgave each other, when I first visited him in the hospital. Kristen came and drove me to see him after Dream-” Tubbo froze, biting his lip with his eyebrows furrowed.

“You can tell me about what happened, nobody else will know, like I told you, unless I think it could hurt you or others,” Puffy smiled encouragingly. “It could be helpful, but you don’t have to share more than you’re comfortable with.”

Tubbo didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out his phone, typing in his passcode with shaking hands. Puffy watched as he pulled up an app, and tapped a few things, before he scrolled up, and handed the phone to her.

“Sorry if it’s a bit hard to read. ‘M dyslexic,” Tubbo mumbled, before looking down at the toy in his hands as Puffy read the _awful_ things Dream had said to a _kid._ Her stomach turned as Tubbo’s texts got increasingly frantic and misspelled, while Dream’s got meaner.

“Oh, oh dear,” Puffy lightly gasped and set down the phone closer to Tubbo’s side of the table, before moving to kneeling next to his chair, where brunette sat, shaking lightly. “Tubbo, darling, you need to remember that it’s not your fault. It’s Dream’s, and it was selfish and wrong of him to talk to you like that, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered, and she opened her arms for a hug, which he accepted.

“I think that’s enough, if you want to go ahead and-”

“Wait, we’re done?” Tubbo cut Puffy off, perplexed.

“I mean, we don’t have to be, if you had more to share,” Puffy smiled, not about to stop someone from opening up. “Go ahead!”

Tubbo took a deep breath, before he kept going. “Well, you know, I went to the hospital to see Tommy after that bit. But it was like it wasn’t really Tommy,” the teen frowned.

“What do you mean by that?” Puffy glanced up from her writing.

“I mean… for starters, he _looked_ awful. He was really skinny, it was scary. And he’d gotten sick from uh- from sitting out in the snow, so he was really pale, but his cheeks were red and he looked just miserable,” Tubbo frowned as he remembered what his best friend had looked like, laying in the hospital. “He still looks pretty bad, but he looked like a breathing corpse.”

“Was there anything else that seemed off, besides physical?”

“Yeah, he was super jumpy. Which, he isn’t usually. Sure, he doesn’t like yelling, but I mean, with how his parents are, it’s not surprising,” Tubbo glared at his hands. “But he was just _jumpy._ And he kept holding back with his jokes which he usually never does. Oh, and he kept looking at us like he expected us to say something, which I can only guess something bad.”

“And that’s not normal, for him or anyone,” Puffy observed, and Tubbo nodded. “So, he wasn’t acting himself, on top of the physical effects of everything that happened.”

Another nod.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me?” Puffy prompted after a moment, and Tubbo carefully considered.

“Yeah, I think so,” the brunette stood, and Puffy watched him walk to the door, but before he could get all the way out, she called to him-

“You were great, kiddo, thank you.”

________________________________

  
  


Puffy was almost nervous for her next interview. Tommy. The center of the whole situation. Not the cause, of course, she would never victim-blame when she knew who the menace really was. But she didn’t know what to expect. She had met Tommy that morning, and he seemed so lively and fiery. Puffy knew that false bravado was a common coping mechanism, and the kid had looked _bad,_ but a common theme with his friends so far was that he was determined to convince everyone he was fine, regardless of how he actually felt at any given moment.

She wasn’t given much time to ponder, because soon the door opened, and Tommy peeked in, but immediately froze. “Sorry, was I supposed to knock?” He cringed a bit.

“You’re fine, Tommy, there’s no worries,” Puffy encouraged him to walk in, gesturing to the chair across from hers. “It’s nice to meet you, I’ve heard quite a bit!”

Tommy turned cherry red at Puffy’s comment. “Well, I’m sure it was all good things! Big- uh- I’m a pretty big deal around here,” Tommy laughed, but it sounded strained. He knew what was coming.

“Yes, Tommy, I’ve heard a lot of great things about you, but right now I want to hear what you have to say,” she smiled and Tommy cautiously sat down.

There was a quiet tension in the room, before Puffy decided to get started. The bandaid had to be pulled off at some point.

“So, how long have you worked here? I understand you’re only turning sixteen this year,” Puffy noted. “It’s hard for someone so young to get a job like this so young.”

“Well, uh, weirdly enough, I actually know… the owner of the store because he used to hang around my big brother, Wilbur, who I met at a record shop, but they were friends in school. When I found out uh- when I found out Dream was coming back after college to open a grocery store, I was only… fourteen?” Tommy began, looking at all of the assorted items on Puffy’s desk. “It took him a while until he had everything running though, so by the time he did, I was only a few months off of turning fifteen, so I just bothered him until he let me. So, I’ve been working for about a year.”

“Wow, that’s quite the accomplishment!” Puffy beamed, and Tommy’s whole face lit up. “Have you enjoyed working here?”

“Yeah, of course I have, y’know?” the blonde hesitated slightly, but he didn’t seem to be lying about enjoying it, just conflicting feelings and experiences. “I wouldn’t have gotten to be so close with Ranboo, Purpled, Niki, and- heck, I would hardly have any friends if-”

As though he forgot to breathe, a small gasp passed Tommy’s lips, but he just barely choked back a sob, putting a hand over his mouth. “Tommy, sweetheart, I need you to listen to my voice,” Puffy sprung into action, hoping to catch the obvious panic attack before it happened, but she stayed neutral as possible. “I need you to tell me five things you can see.”

“I-I can see you, your uh- your duck collection, the photo wall,” Tommy frantically looked around. “My-my shoes, and uh- and your fidget toys.”

“Four things you can feel?”

“My hoodie, the- the bracelet Tubbo made me, the arm rests of the chair, and a monopoly piece in my pocket?” Tommy muttered the last one, sounding slightly confused but also entertained. Puffy took it as a sign that the exercise was working, and she was glad they’d caught it so early.

“Okay, do you want to do three things you can hear? Or do you think you’d rather be done?” Puffy didn’t want to assume Tommy was fine, but his breathing had already significantly improved by then.

“I’m okay now… thanks,” Tommy nodded his head and took a deep breath.

“Of course, Tommy. Can you continue with this, or should we wait some time?” Puffy asked, concern in her tone evident more than before.

“I’m good, really… O’ Captain my captain,” Tommy chuckled quietly to himself, while it was the older’s turn to illuminate a bit.

“How do you know a Walt Whitman poem from 1865?” Puffy asked incredulously, while Tommy couldn’t help but laugh again.

“My big brother, Techno, is a big ol’ clingy nerd… he recited it to me while I was sick, back at Phil’s house that first night. I think he thought I was asleep,” the teen smiled fondly to himself at the memory. “I’m surprised I remember it too.”

Puffy wasn’t really sure where to go from there. She didn’t want to trigger another attack for Tommy, but she needed as much information as she could get. Logically, it made the most sense to just face it all head on, from the start but Puffy had no idea where Tommy’s boundaries were, remotely. The pregnant pause hadn’t helped to alleviate any of the struggle Puffy was having, trying to approach the conversation. She wished she knew what it was that had set Tommy off so suddenly while he’d been talking just fine seconds before. 

_Wait_.

The mention of his friends, that had to be what had done it. Puffy recalled the texts Dream sent Tubbo, and what all three of the teens prior to Tommy had said. That Tommy supposedly hated them and didn’t want to see them. It was more than likely that Dream had fed the young blonde the reverse lie, and without anyone around to deny it, the idea of everyone hating him was ingrained into his skull. Coupled with the fragility of his mind from sleep deprivation and verbally abusive parents, Tommy’s non-existent mental health wasn’t remotely shocking.

After careful consideration and light trial and error, Puffy found out how to get through Tommy’s side of the story. From the beginning, Puffy was getting nothing but red flags, which she expected, but it was one of the few times she wished she was wrong. The beginning of Tommy’s side started just about the same as the rest of them; Tubbo was put in charge, Tommy was supposed to unload the shipment, and a box got destroyed on accident, but Tommy took the fall because Tubbo didn’t want to be the reason people who weren’t even remotely involved lost their jobs. The young blonde didn’t hold any sort of resentment when he talked about his best friend changing his schedule for the sake of the rest of the employees. His attitude worried Puffy more than anything.

“I can’t be mad at him,” Tommy told Puffy. “I kind of deserve it. I’m a bit of an arse to everyone at the store.”

“Tommy, you didn’t deserve any of what happened to you,” Puffy furrowed her brow, but kept her expression warm. “There were other ways for you to make up for what happened, but it wasn’t entirely your fault either. You and Ranboo are just kids, it’s normal to make mistakes.”

Tommy shrugged, but kept going with the story. He described the first night, how he’d been completely alone for the first hour, the call he’d had with Wilbur, Ranboo visiting, Ranboo leaving per instruction of Dream. Puffy noted the lack of mention to the phone call he had with Purpled. Deciding to take a risk, she brought it up.

“I was told you called one of your friends and sounded pretty… distressed. They thought it was a panic attack,” Puffy met Tommy’s eyes, a sympathetic look in her own. “When you called your friend, that feeling, do you get that a lot?”

The silence in the room was heavy, the tension nearly palpable. “I didn’t mean that as a bad thing, or something to be ashamed of, I was just curious,” the older corrected herself quickly. “It’s okay if you do.”

“I get ‘em… almost every day? Close to everyday, I reckon. But I’m a big man, I can deal with them,” Tommy said with a nonchalance that made Puffy’s stomach drop to her feet as she wrote down what Tommy said.

“Okay, Tommy, I’m going to explain something, sweetheart, and I need you to just think about what I say,” Puffy sighed, hoping she didn’t sound annoyed or angry in any capacity. “Panic attacks aren’t supposed to be a normal, everyday thing. They’re mentally and physically exhausting, yeah? You shouldn’t be going through them so frequently and when you’re so young.”  
  


There was no response, not that Puffy expected one ( _It was blatant denial. He didn’t want anything to be wrong with him. Of course he wouldn’t, who_ wants _something to be “wrong” with them)._ Instead of trying to push the topic further, they moved on to the topic of what happened after the first night. With obvious reluctance, Tommy continued. He told Puffy about the other nights, how Dream reminded him _time and time again_ that his friends didn’t care. How he made Tommy use a broken mop to drag out his shift, or make him completely redo something if it wasn’t up to Dream’s standards.

“So, Tommy, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to talk about that last night.”

Silence. A blank stare directed at the table. Any tension that had been alleviated came back ten-fold.

Then, a tense nod.

Puffy’d take what she could get.

“I was having a bad day,” Tommy began. “I mean, I’d sort of been having a shit week, but- it was just worse that day. I ran into my parents before school, and then I showed up too early so _he_ had me sit outside until the shift started. I worked my arse off, honest, but he still thought it wasn’t good enough, so-so he made me redo the floors right at the end of my shift.”

There was a lull.

Puffy bit the inside of her cheek, but decided the teen needed some slight prompting. “What happened after that?”

“Well, it uh- it was snowing real bad during my shift, but then I missed the bus on top of that. If the bus was even running,” the blonde rubbed his eyes with boney knuckles, though it wasn’t from tears, but rather exhaustion. “I didn’t want to walk home after I locked up so I just… laid at the bus stop.”

“Tommy-”

“I was just so tired, Miss Puffy, I wouldn’t have done it otherwise, but I _couldn’t_ make myself walk,” Tommy pleaded, begging her to understand, as if she’d be mad, but it was the last, whispered sentence that unsettled the doctor but also informed her about Tommy’s mental state more than anything. “I didn’t think anyone would care anyways.”

“Can I hug you?” 

Hesitation.

A brief moment to consider.

Another nod.

And then Puffy had her arms wrapped around the too frail, shaking, beaten down boy, and she swore to herself she wouldn’t let Dream hurt him or any of the other teens ever again.

Her duckling needed to learn from his mistakes.

________________________________

  
  


The breakroom was nearly silent, except for the hum of the heater and other electrical appliances throughout the room. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, by any means. That would imply that it hadn’t been purposely brought into fruition. However, the silence that had overcome the breakroom was self-induced by Puffy, who sat, trying to collect her thoughts and the rest of herself as she went through her notes from each of the first four interviews. The story seemed mostly straightforward. Fucked up unlike anything Puffy had heard before, but straightforward all the same.

It was a matter of choosing how she wanted to continue the interviews from there. She knew she needed to interview Sapnap and George, that wasn’t a question. A name she’d heard repeatedly among the four teen boys was Phil, and the occasional “Techno” ( _An odd name in her eyes, but who was she to judge? Her name was Puffy, after all)._ With some deliberation, she decided the best course of action would probably be to put off interviewing George and Sapnap until the end.

**[Me to George at 10:17 am]** Hey! Done with all the teen interviews, can you send Phil or Techno my way? :)

**[George to Me at 10:17 am]** Yep, one of them will be there soon

**[Me to George at 10:18 am]** Thanks!! :)

Puffy put her phone in her pocket and waited patiently for either Phil or Techno to knock at her door. It wasn’t too long that she had to wait, because minutes after she’d slid her phone back into her pocket, there was a sharp but efficient knock on the door.

“It’s open!” Her tone was warm and light, and Puffy hoped possibly somewhat calming. The door opened and pink hair tied in a long braid appeared in the doorway.

“Hello,” the tall young adult ( _Puffy didn’t want to assume anything, but if she had to guess, she wouldn’t have pegged him as any older than 20. Despite the height and monotone voice and almost anything else about him, Puffy had a feeling he was the same way Tommy was, forced to grow up too fast, just manifested differently)_ greeted the doctor, and made haste in joining Puffy at her makeshift office. “I’m Techno.”

Puffy laughed slightly. “So I’ve heard. I’m Puffy. I like your name,” she complemented wholeheartedly in a way she hoped didn’t sound at all condescending. Puffy needed Techno to like her so she could get the full picture.

“Unique names make for either the uniquest people or the strangest people,” Techno shrugged as he took a seat.

“I’d like to think those go hand in hand,” Puffy chuckled, while the boy nodded. “I’m sure you’ve been given a rough idea by now of how this goes. I won’t tell anyone outside of here about what’s said unless you’re a threat to yourself or others, and we’ll only talk about what you’re comfortable with.”

For the fifth time that day, Puffy went through the basic questions, before she got to the point when it would _usually_ begin to go down, as it did with the four teens before Techno. “What do you remember about when it happened?”

“Well, I can’t say I remember anything about it at all. I was on the other side of the ocean on a vacation with my family,” Techno avoided eye contact as he spoke, but his eyes were still trained on the wall right behind Puffy _(Polite, but can’t stand eye contact. Understandable)._

That did change things. Slightly.

“Okay, uh-” Puffy stumbled over her words as she wrote. “How about you tell me how you got involved then?”

With a hum and nod, Techno continued. “I was supposed to be going to a seminar at a university nearby before my family’s vacation ended. By that point, nobody had really seen or talked to him in a while, including Wilbur, so I was asked to check on Tommy by Wilbur, since he was staying the entire trip,”

“Phil picked me up from the airport and took me back to his house, where we hung out and I napped until it was time to go see Tommy for his closing shift. By then it had been snowing for an hour at least, maybe more?” Techno cleared his throat, which sounded scratchy as though he hadn’t spoken so much in a while _(Or ever)._ “It took us some time to get to the store, since we couldn’t find the tire chains, but once we got there… It was bad.”

There was a dark look in his eyes, and the sheen that began to appear over his eyes, making them glossy was also not commented on. Puffy was patient, not daring to interrupt his train of thought, opting to write down what she’d been told.

It took a moment, but not too much longer, and Techno carried on with his story. “We got to the bus stop, and he was fast asleep and just _frigid._ Blue lips and everything.”   
  


Shuddering, as though he were back in the freezing night he’d described, Techno took a sharp breath. “We got him back to Phil’s house, but he was just so sick already. We didn’t know how long he was out there, but it was too long. All he had was a _hoodie.”_

Techno went through every detail of what had happened since he had returned from his vacation, and Puffy was almost a hundred percent certain that it was the first time he’d talked about everything that he’d been feeling. As he described the first few days of trying to take care of Tommy ( _The hopelessness when nothing was helping, how he’d climbed in bed next to Tommy to keep him warm, how he read and told him story after story_ ), the inevitable resignation ( _Admitting he was useless to help someone he loved was the hardest. He didn’t fare well with being helpless_ ), the hospital trip ( _Tommy’s mom had hardly blinked an eye, treating her son’s hospitalization as an inconvienence rather than something to be concerned about_ ), and the confrontation with Dream ( _It hadn’t been satisfying in the slightest, the man deserved far worse for what he’d not only put Tommy through, but how he’d talked to Tubbo and Ranboo, and the way he flaked immediately after being told he he’d done wrong. He was a coward_ ).

Puffy looked up from her journal, her expression a mix of concern, horror, and sympathy. Techno, meanwhile, sat across from her, clearly trying to keep himself composed. He briefly stood and grabbed himself a water from the mini fridge on the opposite wall of the room, but sat down after, not entirely sure what to do with himself at that point.

“Hey, Techno? You did the best you could, you know that, right? You can’t control everything. Everybody knows that, and nobody expects you to do it all. Helping Tommy isn’t a one-person job, don’t ask that of yourself,” Puffy smiled and noticed some of the tightness in his posture ease up, just barely, but enough for Puffy to know her words at least got through a little bit. “Can I hug you?”

Techno shook his head, clearly done talking, so Puffy nodded in acknowledgement and put a hand over Techno’s that was resting on the table in front of him. The entire room stilled, but Techno didn’t make a move to pull away, his breathing simply stuttered, before he relaxed into his seat more.

“Thank you, Techno,” Puffy looked at him sincerely. “You’ve done the best you can for Tommy, don’t forget to take care of yourself too.”

________________________________

  
  


Puffy stared at her notebook, not quite feeling at a loss, but more so stumped. Although she’d gotten loads of information, she was beginning to lose track of where to keep going. The teenagers and Techno had all been plenty helpful. Wilbur and Phil were kind, but they didn’t experience nearly any of it, though they tried to be helpful in other areas of information. She’d talked to Karl, Quackity, Fundy, Niki and one or two others, but most of them had the same limited information, if that.

She knew she was putting off the inevitable- interview George and Sapnap, hearing how much of a monster her ( _son? brother?_ ) family was past what Tommy had already told her. There wasn’t exactly a manual for what to do when the troubled teen you adopted when you were way younger than you should have grows up to be a store owner that participates in mild child abuse.

That would be too easy.

And alarmingly oddly specific.

After what she’s certain had been far too long, there’s a knock at the door once more, and a familiar green-haired man pops his head in. “Sam?” Puffy stared at him in slight disbelief, despite knowing the younger man worked at the store. “How’re you doing? We haven’t talked in awhile.”

Puffy rose from her seat and met Sam midway between her chair and the door, closing the distance between them with a warm hug. For what she figured was the first time that day, Puffy let herself relax in her friend’s hold, pulling away after a few moments.

“I’ve been okay, I’m happy you’re here to help,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head. “I didn’t do enough to help Tommy before, but I’m hoping we can work together. I need to make it up to him.”

“You know he doesn’t even remotely blame anybody else for this, right?” The brunette raised an eyebrow, her mouth downturned in a slight frown, while it was hard for her to see under Sam’s mask and glasses he insisted on wearing. “He just blames himself. And I’m working towards getting him to start recognizing Dream for what he is.”

“An abusive bastard?” Sam crossed his arms, and although Puffy did know it was the truth, it was a harsh truth at that, to accept that her duckling really could hurt another person, a _child,_ like that.

She sighed. “Yeah, Sam. That.”

“I’m sorry, Puff,” the taller pulled her into another hug and rubbed her back slightly, while Puffy stared at his shirt, wondering how she was going to fix everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there's puffy!!! i hope i wrote her alright, i've been watching her so much lately haha, i think she's quickly becoming a favorite. also, we've got sam now!!
> 
> dream gets what's coming to him next chapter, and george finally talks to someone and gets a nap lol. hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, it really shouldn't, i've already started writing it :-]
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


	11. being a creep is sometimes okay, blue shells are the stupidest thing in mario kart, and a promise is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all!! i hope you enjoy this next chapter!!! sorry it took me a while yet again, but i hope you like what i have all the same :-]
> 
> also, i'm going to start using real names for this besides in dialogue because holy cow, i cannot take my own writing seriously with these names. there will be a few exceptions for the most part, but i just thought i'd let y'all know
> 
> no tw for this chapter, let me know if you think i need to add anything in the comments <3

“Hey, Toms?” At the sound of Wilbur’s voice, Tommy turned to look at his brother from his place on the couch, where he was ~~l~~ ~~ osing terribly ~~ destroying Tubbo and Ranboo at Mario Kart. “Can we talk?”

Tommy didn’t like that tone, or that question. It wasn’t necessarily a loaded question, and Tommy  _ knew  _ Wilbur just wanted to talk, but the way he’d said it made Tommy feel like he was a little kid in trouble all over again. Nevertheless, Tommy set down his controller, nodding,

“Sure, Wil, where…?” Tommy looked at the older expectantly, but he didn’t say anything, he just started walking towards the stairs, so Tommy quickly turned back to look at Tubbo and Ranboo. “I’ll be right back to destroy you two pussies! Nobody beats Big Man Innit!”   
  


“Tommy, you literally ended twelfth place last round,” Ranboo deadpanned with a smirk, raising his eyebrow, which made Tubbo cackle.

“You hit me with a blue shell right before the finish line, bitch!” Tommy protested.

“You three can settle this later when you beat Tommy again,” Wilbur rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He and Tommy walked upstairs, before walking into the guest room Wilbur and Techno had been sharing. Sitting down on the bed, Wilbur patted the empty space next to him, and Tommy sat beside his pseudo-brother, anxiety bubbling in his stomach. As if sensing so, Wilbur’s expression softened.

“You’re not in trouble, Toms,” Wilbur assured Tommy, smiling. “I just wanted to talk. A lot happened in the week I was gone.”

Tommy nodded, not entirely sure what to say. “What… what did you want to talk about?”

“You,” the brunette shrugged. “And if you’re comfortable, I want to talk about what happened when you worked the closing shift. Alone. With Dream.”

Wilbur was frowning at that point, and Tommy shrunk in on himself a bit. “Alrighty then, that seems to be what’s on everyone’s minds, innit?” He chuckled, but it was forced.

“I know you talked with Puffy, but we’re all worried about you. This isn’t the kind of thing you get over in a day after talking to someone  _ once,”  _ Wilbur frowned, putting a hand on Tommy’s knee, gently squeezing. “I just… I wasn’t here when you needed me most. But I’m here now, so please, come to me if you ever need anything. Whenever. And I promise, you’re not being a burden in the slightest.”

“Thanks, Wil,” Tommy fidgeted with him hands in his lap and tried to think of something to say. “What uh… what d’you wanna know?”

“Just start from the beginning,” Wilbur encouraged.

________________________________

  
  


Puffy hung around the cash registers as she let herself take a long break. Watching as the workers of the store all interacted and treated each other as family, she knew, if nothing else good had come from it, in the end, Dream had created a tight-knit group of people. They were more than just friends, they all viewed one another as family, and that much was obvious.

“You know, I’m pretty sure watching a bunch of people you don’t know without their knowledge and consent is considered rude and maybe even creepy, in most places,” George made his presence known, suddenly speaking up from behind Puffy, making her jump slightly. 

“Well, I think I can live with being a bit of a creep,” Puffy chuckled, sighing as George moved to stand next to her. “Are you ready for later?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” George swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing. “I don’t know if I can go and confront Dream like that. He’s- he  _ was  _ my best friend. He was mine and Sapnap’s best friend, and I hate him for what he did to Tommy. But it’s… it’s hard.”

Rubbing a hand on the younger man’s back, Puffy contemplated for a moment. “You don’t have to come. In fact, neither you or Nick have to, if you don’t want to. This is between me and him right now.”

“I just feel bad, I guess. I’ve been all talk about being on Tommy’s side, but I can’t even tell Dream he fucked up to his face,” George dragged a hand down his face, just barely skewing his glasses from their place on his nose. “That’s just the icing on the shit cake of this entire situation.”

Puffy gave him a sad grin and pushed up his goggles back into place. “You two are close. You, Dream, and Nick have been friends for years. Nobody blames you for finding it hard.”

George didn’t say anything to that, he just watched as Alex and Karl chatted up the customers checking out, knowing full well the kind of banter they were getting up to. Karl threw a balled up receipt at Alex’s head, making the other retaliate by throwing a few coins at him, though he was careful not to aim at his head. Mostly.

“ _ You honking- _ ”

“Use normal fucking swear words!”

“We are  _ surrounded  _ by  _ literal children _ , Alex!”

“You are never too young to have a colorful vocabulary! Our beloved Tommy is the  _ perfect  _ example!” Alex cackled, and Karl looked about ready to lovingly throttle him, but both of them were preoccupied by customers right before he could retaliate.

Puffy giggled and rubbed George’s shoulder. “It’s never boring with those two, is it?” George shook his head, smirking, while Puffy continued. “Just think about it a little bit more. I won’t force you or Nick to come, but just think on it some more. You’ve got a few hours before I plan on leaving.”

George nodded, before turning and walking towards the back of the store, Puffy already knowing full well where he was headed.

________________________________

  
  


Clay wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t impulsive. At least, not most of the time. His actions were calculated and well thought-out and never done just for the sake of doing them. Every action he’d made since the day he had some form of self-awareness had been to help himself or his friends in some way. Not the most morally “correct” way to live his life, but it made him happy, and he would argue he’d gotten relatively far. It’d kept him from getting swallowed whole in the foster system, it kept him from losing his store in the beginning, when he was sure he was going to end up back on the streets  ~~_ right back where she’d found him _ ~~ , and it’d helped him become one of the most successful business managers on his side of town.

But calculation and precision didn’t always give him his desired results, and that was his downfall.

Clay believed so heavily in every one of his careful choices, and didn’t stop to consider that he wouldn’t always get what he wanted. When it inevitably happened, on the few occasions that it did, he’d be crushed and embarrassed. Disappointed in himself. Because he’d spend hours mulling over every little thing he did, and it crushed him completely when things flopped so horribly.

Manipulating  ~~_ his friend _ ~~ a kid hadn’t really been part of the plan. Clay wouldn’t say it was a complete loss either  ~~_ it was crushing, he hurt him so bad, he’d never forgive Clay and probably quit and then everyone else because goddamnit, if nothing else, Tommy was loved at the store _ ~~ .

~~_ Getting Cara to give him an ounce of attention had been the end goal. Any attention, even negative, was attention, after all _ _. _ ~~

Cara had called him again and again. Left him texts. He’d seen her name among the number of other notifications from George, Nick, and others.

Similarly to the others, he hadn’t responded.

No, he didn’t even open the messages.

~~_ In a selfish way, he didn’t ever want to. He wanted to preserve the illusion he had of a happy family. It’d only lasted for the first few months they’d met. But he never stopped longing. _ ~~

Over a hundred messages sat unopened on his phone.

~~_ George always affectionately called him out for being an attention whore as they would joke. He wasn’t wrong, was he? Maybe it hadn't been a joke. _ ~~

George had filled his inbox after the first two days. Nick, Sam, and Karl had managed to get in maybe one voicemail each before George had taken up the entire thing. The messages ranged from coherent, angry, clearly somewhat practiced demands for him to take responsibility for what he’d done, to sleep-deprived, frantic messages begging for Clay to just come back. To fix things.

~~_ Those messages hurt the most. The desperation he could hear so clearly in his best friend’s voice was probably the most damning thing of the whole ordeal. He knew George was blaming himself. God, he didn’t deserve that. _ ~~

But he couldn’t. He wanted to make them come to him. He wanted to make  _ her  _ come to him. That was the least she could do for him.

~~_ He need more, oh how he wanted her to give him more of her time. That’s all he wanted since she’d taken him in. He wanted what she’d promised to the scared sixteen-year-old all those years ago. _ ~~

So he waited. Because Cara wouldn’t stay away long. Because, despite her actions, she was attached. She was attached to him.

~~_ He was attached to her. He was attached to her. He was attached to her _ . ~~

After four days of waiting, Dream saw a text from Puffy. It was ominous, if not damning. He’d seen it on accident while scrolling on Twitter.

**[Cara to Me at 3:27 pm]** I’ll see you soon. I know you’re reading this. I know you’ve read the ones before this. I’ll say what I need to say to you to your face, duckling

~~_ He tried to ignore the way his heart clenched as he thought about how disappointed she really was. _ ~~

Clay set down his phone and took a glance around his apartment. It was already clean, so he didn’t bother stressing about getting up to tidy things. It wasn’t like she had any expectations of him anymore anyways.  She wasn’t allowed to have them anymore.

~~_ Or maybe she always knew he'd be a fuck up. Maybe she never even had them in the first place. Had she ever cared? _ ~~

Clay dragged himself to his desk in his room and started to go through paperwork for the store that he’d pass off to George the second he wasn’t legally obligated to handle said documents. Once they got his signature and payments in various methods, every document was put into a neat pile, organized methodically. He wanted to save George some of the trouble that he could after springing the upkeep of an entire store on the older man.

~~_ He knew that he needed to call his best friends back. He knew he was being selfish and now he was just hurting everyone. Who was he even helping anymore? _ ~~

Clay glanced over at his clock and saw it was nearing four. She’d be there any minute. 

As if summoning her by just thinking about her, Clay heard a knock on his door. Rising from his chair, he made his way over to the door and hesitated with his hand hovering just over the handle. Who knew what he would see on the other side? When he opened the door, he was faced with Cara. He’d half been expecting to see George, and almost expecting to see Nick, but neither were present. Oh well, the one person he’d wanted to see was there, and that was what mattered. 

“Clay.”

“Cara.”

~~_ It was already awful and tense and everything he knew it was going to be. She looked angry. She looked so disappointed and put up with him and his shit because clearly all he could give her was grief. _ ~~

Clay stepped aside and let Cara into the apartment. She took a step in, not taking her eyes off of Clay for a millisecond, even to glance around the place. He brushed off the weird behavior ~~_they both knew full well why she was being cold_~~ and walked to the kitchen, leaning against the breakfast bar.

Clearing his throat, Clay met her eyes. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

Cara scoffed a bit. “You’re being hospitable. Good job. But you can stop, Clay. We both know why I’m here, yes?” He nodded, and she hummed.

Her eyes practically bore into him as they kept up eye contact, standing across from one another. “You did something bad, Clay.”

“What an astute observation,” he rolled his eyes. “Is big bad Puffy going to tell me off now? I’m  _ so scared _ , because I  _ totally care  _ about what you think of me, after ignoring me for years.”   
  


~~_ He did care, oh god he cared so much. He just needed her to see him and pay attention and help him because he needed her he needed her so bad. _ ~~

“Okay, let’s be clear, I did not  _ ignore  _ you! I went back to school so I could help people, you’re the one who fell off and stopped talking to me,” Cara’s tone grew somehow colder, something harsher.

“You were hardly around once you went back to school! I needed you most back then and you were never there!” Clay, who’d been trying to keep himself contained,  ~~_ lashing out was childish, after all _ ~~ c ouldn’t stop his voice from rising in volume. “Why did you even bother taking me in if you were just going to leave me to fend for myself all the time!”

“Clay, I was  _ always  _ there for you. Time and time again, I offered help and support and love, but you pushed me away,” Cara defended, posture straightening. “And that was long before I went back to school. I tried to reach out to you after you moved out too, but you never let me close.”

He thought she was done, but she kept going after a pause to catch her breath. "And now, you've gone and hurt more than one child, going so far as to get one of them _hospitalized_ , ignored your friends, left your whole store to poor George to run practically all by himself, and you can't own up for any of the shit you've done!" She seethed at him, and Clay took a miniscule step back.

~~_ She was right, she had offered nothing but love and support even before she went back to school. She’d called and texted him every birthday, holiday, and even congratulated him on the store since he left, only for him to give her no response every time. God, he’d been such a selfish prick. _ ~~

“I-I-” Clay wanted to defend himself, but he had nothing. She was right.

She’d been right the whole time.

_ Oh _ .

He’d missed her.

He’d missed her a lot.

In spite of all his best efforts, Clay felt pressure begin to build behind his eyes, tears stinging as they built up.

“Just tell me one thing, Clay, no bullshit,” Cara sighed, annoyance evident in her tone. “Why did you do it?”

He stared at her for just a moment, before the metaphorical dam broke.

“I-I did it for you! I thought- I thought if I did something big, you’d pay attention to me for once!” Clay wailed, tears beginning to flow freely down his cheeks. “Any attention, even bad, is attention after all!”   
  


He laughed bitterly, devoid of humor, and Cara stood looking at him, stunned. She seemed unsure of what to do, how to approach. Her expression had softened into something softer, the disappointment still evident, but there wasn’t the bitter downturn of her lips. Well, not for the same reasons as before at least. She took a step forward, towards where Clay leaned himself against the breakfast bar, and she pulled him into a hug, sighing. He was so much taller, but she made do, rubbing a thumb in comforting circles on his back.

“Oh, my duckling, you didn’t have to do… all this to get my attention. Just call me back next time,” Cara chuckled, trying to make light of it as Clay freely cried for the first time in what felt like _~~what must've been~~_ years. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Cara knew what she said, and she would make sure of it.

She’d make sure, eventually, they’d all be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man i love writing karl and quackity's dynamic
> 
> puffy finally talked to her duckling, and now it's time for some healing to be had!!! 
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


	12. several reconciliations are had, two glasses of water are shared, and hairstyles are due to change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was feeling very inspired. so y'all get this bad boy (halo) way sooner than i thought it would be done
> 
> no TW for this chapter either, but let me know if y'all think it needs any?

Two friends were sat at a table in an empty room. Or rather- it would’ve been empty, if not for two  _ other  _ friends that stood in the room close by the table. The four of them spoke in quiet tones with careful deliberation, all of them staring at the phone of one individual. It was near silent for a good few minutes, but silence never lasted long with this group, as one of them finally spoke up.

“No offense, but what the fuck is taking so long?” Alex groaned dramatically, looking down at George’s phone, which remained screen-up in the middle of the table, painfully lacking in any sort of notifications the four boys were hoping to get. “She’s been there for at least an hour and-”

Karl chuckled, trying to break the tension by lightening the atmosphere. “Big Q, I’m sure they’re just talking it out. It’s been a few years since they’ve talked, right?” Karl looked to Nick, who nodded wordlessly, keeping his own gaze on George.

George himself still looked exhausted. Despite the efforts of their little group, George, who they normally joked around with for doing nothing  _ but  _ sleeping when he wasn’t at work, clearly hadn’t been getting enough sleep since the beginning of the whole ordeal. The thousand-yard stare was perpetual, and eyebags that seemed flat out unnatural on him were becoming a more and more prominent feature. Then there was the dozing off in the middle of shifts.

Nick squeezed George’s shoulder, making the older briefly glance up, offering him what was supposed to be a small grin, but looked more like a grimace. “She’ll text us,” Nick spoke with confidence, though one could easily tell he was trying to convince himself as well.

The four of them waited and waited, with still nothing, and they were about to give up and return to the work they should’ve been doing in the first place, when the back door creaked open. 

And there, in all his glory, stood Clay, Cara standing close behind. George’s eyes widened and he shot to his feet, staring at his best friend with shock written all over his face.

“George-” Clay began to speak after a pregnant pause, but hearing Clay’s voice immediately snapped George out of the haze he’d been, and he didn’t let the taller get any further.

“ _ No _ , no, absolutely  _ not _ . You  _ do not _ get to be the one to start this talk, Dream,” George’s voice was laced with venom, begging the other to challenge him. “You make a huge  _ mess  _ and then- then you have the  _ nerve  _ to just leave it to me without  _ any  _ warning- while you’re off doing who knows what!”

Clay, who’d begun to step closer to the table took a step back, bewildered at the sight of George blowing up. But he also heard the tremor in his voice, and saw the way his whole body was nearly vibrating from pure exhaustion. Nick put a hand on George’s shoulder, and the other resisted the urge to lean into it, to let Nick just hug him and finally get some easy, fulfilling sleep, but Clay was  _ right there  _ and he was finally going to have to own up to the shit he’d done to  _ all  _ of them. 

Clay hesitated, but tested his luck and walked closer to the table that his friends were gathered around, his hands up in surrender as he approached, as though coming close to a wild animal. “George, Sapnap, Karl, Big Q… I know that nothing I can say will fix this immediately. I know that I hurt Tommy and so many others,  _ especially _ you guys, with what I did. And-and there’t not any sort of justification for what I did,” he spoke, looking back at Cara briefly, and she nodded with an encouraging smile. “But I need you guys to know I really am sorry. I’m sorry for what I did, and you guys don’t have to forgive me now, but I just hope that, maybe with time… you guys could let me prove that I really regret what I did, and let me be your friend again?”

The room was silent, tension so thick that you could cut it with scissors. It was as though the world had gone to a stand still.

But then Nick stepped forward.

“Dream, you know that we can’t forgive you right away,” Clay nodded. “And you need to apologize to Tommy and Tubbo and Ranboo and- actually, you need to just apologize to everyone. But if you’re willing to improve and show you’re sorry- to own up to what you did- then I have no problem forgiving you.”

It was with a shaky breath that Clay released the breath he’d been holding while his best friend talked. “Thanks, Sap,” Clay stepped forward, and Nick walked forward to meet him in a hug, simultaneously getting himself closer to the taller, but making sure there was distance between Clay and George.

Karl and Alex looked between each other, then to the duo embracing in front of them. “We know you’re not all bad. You just made some mistakes,” Karl piped up, walking around the other side of the table, closer to the main interaction, Alex close by. “And yeah, they were big ones, but I think you can change.”

“Yeah, you may have been a  _ pinche idiota _ these past couple of weeks, but we know you’re just a good guy who did some really stupid shit,” Alex gave Clay a lopsided grin, fidgeting with his beanie as him and Nick pulled away from the hug, Nick moving to stand by Alex and Karl, putting a casual arm around either of their shoulders.

That was when they all made a realization. Looking back towards the table, they all were met with the sight of George still just about shaking, tears welling up in his eyes.

“I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”

“You hurt Tommy a lot.”

“We both know it’s not just about him for you.”   
  


George sucked in a sharp breath at Clay’s words, lower lip quivering.

“It-it’s  _ not  _ about me,” he defended, expression hardening as Clay made his way closer.

“I hurt you in a big way. It can be about you,” Clay’s voice was just above a whisper as he stood before George, just a few inches between them. “I left with you an entire store to try and manage with no warning or preparation before. I’d be more concerned if you  _ weren’t  _ mad.”

He laughed just a bit, and that sent George over. He wiped at his eyes fervently, trying to stop the onslaught of tears, but his body was so done fighting to stay so put together, as was the rest of him. George didn’t attempt to stop Clay as he pulled him into a loose hug, allowing George enought space to get out of the hug if he decided he suddenly was repulsed at the thought of being near Clay. But he didn’t pull away, he  _ wasn’t  _ completely repulsed. He’d missed his best friend. And as his head rested against Clay’s chest right below his collarbones, he processed just how much he’d missed the taller. George was still mad. He wanted to stay livid, but it was already a battle to muster up energy to stay on his own two feet, let alone be angry.

“I’m so sorry, George,” Clay whispered, sighing.

George thrummed, completely drained, unable to come up with a coherent response. Clay ruffled George’s hair, before moving his hand to between his shoulder blades. George just sunk into the contact, unable to stay mad in the moment when his best friend knew exactly what to do to make him feel better. He could be mad later.

“You should go home George. You don’t need to handle this shit show anymore,” Clay sighed once again, his voice low, but not really a whisper. The four others in the room had begun to engage in their own conversation so they weren’t just awkwardly sitting, watching the private, long-awaited interaction. However, when Nick heard Clay mention George getting home, he moved his attention over to his two best friends.

“I drove him, I can take him home and get right back here-”

“You’re off the hook too, Sapnap,” Clay gave him a smile. “I’m a big boy, I think it’s about time I start doing my job and running the store I’m supposed to be in charge of.”

“Are you sure, Dream? I can-” Nick tried yet again, but his efforts were futile once more.

“I’m sure. You make sure this one gets home and to bed, and you get home and just relax for a while. You more than deserve it,” Clay pulled away from George, who huffed out his nose a bit frustrated at the loss of warm contact, but he let Nick move an arm around his shoulders.

They said their farewells, and as the door to the back lot closed, Clay was certain of once thing:

He had a lot of work to do.

________________________________

  
  


Ranboo watched, carefully taking note of the tone of the room. He needed to be careful with this. It could go either very well or very horribly, if his predictions were at all accurate, on both extremes.

He cleared his throat, and six other pairs of eyes met his own. “I was thinking about maybe… split-dying my hair black and platinum blonde or something?” His cheeks flushed almost instantly, already embarrassed at just how painfully  _ awkward  _ he’d been just proposing his idea.

“FINALLY!” Tubbo practically jumped out of his seat, while Tommy groaned, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and handing Tubbo a five-dollar bill.

“I- you- what?” Ranboo looked between his two friends, perplexed at the entire exchange that had just gone down. 

Tommy shook his head, clearly irritated. “Fucking bitch- we know you’re obsessed with your  _ aesthetics _ ,” Tommy emphasized the word, waving his hands, but clearly not in a mocking way. “We had a bet going to see how long you’d take to actually do it.”

“Speaking of which,” Wilbur chuckled as he began to speak. “When  _ do  _ you want to do it?”   
  


Ranboo suddenly felt  _ extremely  _ put on the spot, shaking his head lightly, as though the action would clear it. “I just said I was  _ thinking  _ about it! My parents- my parents would probably hate it.”

“It’s not like they spend enough time with you for it to matter if they give a damn,” Techno rolled his eyes, his voice bitter, though all of the people gathered around the table knew it wasn’t directed at Ranboo, or any one of them for that matter. “Didn’t you say they’re always goin’ off on trips, leaving you alone? Isn’t this the whole reason you’re practically livin’ with Phil and Kristin?”

Ranboo messed with his fingers in his lap, opening and closing his mouth as he thought of a response, but Phil stepped in, bless him. “I’m sure that it’ll be okay if you do it, Ranboo. After all, its you hair, and the worst that could happen is that they don’t like it and you have to redye it, yeah?” Phil encouraged, and Ranboo nodded. “Well then, that’s an easy enough fix, mate. So how about we do it this weekend? I think Techno here needs to redye his own hair. His hair is getting less and less painful to look at. Sure fire sign it’s about time to pop on down to the shops and snag a bottle of dye.”

Tommy cackled, while Tubbo gasped. “I wanna dye my hair too!” He was giddy, practically bouncing in his chair. “We can do the front bits! And Tommy can be edgy and do his red or something.”

While a small part of him wanted to be a bother on purpose, for the bit, Tommy knew he really did want to be included, and Tubbo seemed extremely excited at the prospect of the three of them all doing their hair together. So, he made a big show of rolling his eyes and pretending to be annoyed, before agreeing after a few pleas from Tubbo, as though he wasn’t going to accept from the moment he said he wanted to do his own hair.

Tommy wouldn’t ever deny Tubbo.

The rest of dinner went by surprisingly peacefully, though “peacefully” for them meant there weren’t playful screaming matches, or the throwing of any amount of food.

It was just  _ nice _ .

It was crowded and warm and familiar and Tommy felt an almost overwhelming sense of safety, and he knew right there, he was with his real family.

________________________________

  
  


That night, Tommy laid awake in the room he’d deemed his own. The topic of going back to his house had come up. He needed to get more clothes and things for school since he was finally getting well enough that Phil and Kristin thought he could handle school and work. Tommy didn’t want to risk running into his parents, but he  _ did  _ know their schedules, and though it made him anxious as Ranboo always looked, he couldn’t keep stealing Ranboo’s own clothes he’d brought to Phil’s. And even though he knew they were very different circumstances, he couldn’t help but feel jealous of the taller boy. He and Tubbo had gotten close while he’d been isolated for those few days, and then there was the way Phil seemed  _ oh so protective of him _ -

Tommy shook his head. He wasn’t going to do that. Ranboo was a good person and he’d even showed up that first night because he saw Tommy as someone he cared about, even though they hadn’t known each other  _ that  _ well at school before Ranboo started working at the store. It wasn’t Ranboo’s fault Tommy was insecure. Besides, Tubbo could have more than one best friend. Tommy just needed to get a grip.

It was a little pathetic how much he needed his best friend to be only  _ his  _ best friend. Realistically he knew that wasn’t even really  _ possible _ , but he felt nausea bubble up every time he thought about the best friend things Ranboo had probably already done with Tubbo that  _ they  _ had promised to do together-

No.  _ No _ . He was  _ seriously  _ not going to do that. Ranboo didn’t need to deal with him being petty and shit. No, he was  _ fine  _ and Tubbo could have other friends and Ranboo didn’t need the extra stress of worrying about quelling Tommy’s stupid insecurities in his friendship with Tubbo.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Tommy swung his legs over the side of the bed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. At least, not for a little while. He walked with sock-footed, almost silent steps to the door of his room, creeping his way into the hallway. He made his way downstairs, past the couch where Techno slept, with Wilbur ridiculously sprawled out on an air mattress, long gangly limbs in nearly every direction and angle imaginable.

Tommy snorted to himself, wishing he’d brought his phone down with him rather than leaving it upstairs to charge, then continued on to the kitchen. His heart practically stopped when he entered the kitchen however, when he noticed a figure sitting at the kitchen table. Tommy had been about ready to panic, when his mind finally registered it was  _ Ranboo  _ sitting at the table at three in the morning, because that was just how his luck was, wasn’t it?

“Oh! Uh- hi? Can’t- can’t y’know- sleep?” The older boy spoke to Tommy, glancing up from the glass of water in his hands. He noted the way Ranboo’s hands had an unmistakeable tremor to them, or how his eyes, though devoid of eye bags like they always somehow were, were red-rimmed.

So he’d been crying.

Well, shit.

That certainly didn’t help the mass amounts of guilt Tommy felt for even  _ thinking  _ that Ranboo was trying to replace him as Tubbo’s best friend. Well now he just felt like a massive asshole.

“Not really, but uh- are you okay?” Tommy looked at Ranboo, rocking slightly on his feet, unsure of what to do with himself.

“I think? May-maybe?” He tried to chuckled, but it was airless, more like a wheeze, clearly straining. “Apparently they talked to Dream a day or two ago and I- not- not because it wasn’t important! I just- the stuff that he did is all fuzzy but I haven’t wanted to  _ ask  _ because I know it was at least partly my fault but I forgot to write it all down because I selfishly didn’t  _ want  _ to remember it all, but he hurt you and-”

Ranboo was working himself into a panic, and Tommy did  _ not  _ know how to handle that. So he put a hand on Ranboo’s shoulder, hesitating when the other boy tensed up a bit, but his breathing slowed down again, so he counted it as a win.

“Ranboo, I didn’t- I  _ don’t  _ blame you for anything that happened. You- you were one of the only people who were there for me. I wouldn’t have covered for you in the first place if we weren’t…” Tommy swallowed, realization hitting him like a truck. “If we weren’t friends. You didn’t do anything and I’m not mad at you. And I never was. Alright big man? None of that blaming yourself and shit.”

Ranboo nodded, tension draining from his body. “Good,” Tommy let go of his shoulder and went to the cabinet to get what he’d originally went downstairs for. “Are you going to try and go back to sleep?”

“I’ll go back up with you,” Ranboo set down his own cup, watching as Tommy filled up his cup, then joined him in the seat across from him at the table. They sat in silence, but it wasn’t awkward, it was comfortable, even.

The two enjoyed the silence as they finished their cups of water respectively. When they finally went back upstairs, they shared a quick hug before going to their own rooms. And if Techno and Wilbur overheard some of what was said, nobody else needed to know, the twins sharing a sigh of relief after the younger two were long gone upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmm yeah i like a good redemption arc. and also ranboo and tommy friendship :thumbsup:
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! i'm starting back up school this week, so my life is about to get a bit crazier, but i should still be able to update pretty consistently :-)
> 
> thank you all for every kudos/comment/bookmark, i appreciate them all very dearly!!!


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